Northern Bumblebee vs Arctic Woolly Bear Caterpillar Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Northern Bumblebee	Arctic Woolly Bear Caterpillar Moth
Scientific Name	Bombus hyperboreus	Gynaephora rossii
Order	Hymenoptera	Lepidoptera
Family	Apidae	Erebidae
Size	18-24 mm	28-38 mm wingspan
Habitat	Heathland	Heathland
Diet	Parasites	Herbivores
Regions	Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Svalbard, northern Scandinavia, Arctic Russia	Canadian Arctic, Alaska, northern Siberia
Conservation	Least Concern	Least Concern

Northern Bumblebee

A very large, heavily furred bumblebee with orange and black coloring. It is a social parasite that takes over colonies of Bombus polaris. Queens are notably larger than their host species.

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Did You Know?

This is the most northerly bumblebee in the world and is a cuckoo bee that kills or subjugates Bombus polaris queens to take over their nests.

Arctic Woolly Bear Caterpillar Moth

A close relative of the Greenland woolly bear, this moth has pale gray wings and a densely furred body. The caterpillar is covered in long dark hairs and freezes solid each winter. Adults have reduced mouthparts.

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Did You Know?

This moth's caterpillar is parasitized at very high rates by ichneumon wasps, which may extend its already decade-long development even further.