Rusty Patched Bumble Bee vs Cotesia Glomerata Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Cotesia Glomerata Wasp
Scientific Name Bombus affinis Cotesia glomerata
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Apidae Braconidae
Size 13-20 mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Underground Farmland
Diet Nectar Feeders Parasitoids
Regions Upper Midwest and northeastern United States, now extremely restricted Europe, Asia, North America, Australia
Conservation Critically Endangered Least Concern

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

A once-common bumble bee named for the rust-colored patch on the second abdominal segment of workers. It was the first bumble bee in the continental United States listed as endangered.

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Did You Know?

Its range has shrunk by nearly 87 percent since the 1990s, making it one of the rarest bees in North America.

Cotesia Glomerata Wasp

A small gregarious parasitoid wasp that attacks cabbage white butterfly caterpillars. Dozens of larvae develop inside a single host.

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Did You Know?

Up to 60 wasp larvae can emerge from a single caterpillar, spinning yellow cocoons around the dying host.