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Bumble bees ( Bombus  Latrielle) are significant pollinators of flowering plants due to their large body size, abundant setae, and generalist foraging strategies. However, shared setal coloration patterns among closely and distantly related bumble bee species makes identification notoriously difficult. The advent of molecular genetic techniques has increased our understanding of bumble bee evolution and taxonomy, and enables effective conservation policy and management. Individuals belonging to the North American  Bombus fervidus  species-complex (SC) are homogenous in body structure but exhibit significant body color phenotype variation across their geographic distribution. Given the uncertainty of the genealogical boundaries within the SC, some authors have synonymized all members of the  B .  fervidus  SC within a single taxon, while others propose an alternative two taxa hypothesis. Operating under the phylogenetic species concept, our analysis supports the hypothesis that there are two independent lineages of bumble bees within the  B .  fervidus  SC. With the current evidence, however, it is not possible to assign valid names to either of them, because both lineages include the color phenotypes found in the original species descriptions of  B .  fervidus  and  B .  californicus . Cryptic speciation does not seem to be the product of Müllerian mimicry between the clades, because diverging coloration patterns are observed when the distribution of the clades overlaps. Furthermore, within each lineage there is evidence for strong population differentiation that is correlated with geographic distribution rather than color phenotype. In our study, we demonstrate the importance of obtaining a broad sample of multiple populations when conducting lower-level phylogenetic analyses. In addition to improving our knowledge of bumble bee diversification patterns, characterizing the evolutionary history of these pollinators provides the foundation needed to guide contemporary conservation assessments and management strategies.

Phylogeny and population genetic analyses reveals cryptic speciation in the Bombus fervidus species complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae)