Identification: Hunt Bumble Bee (Bombus huntii), or Hunt's Bumble Bee, is a large flying insect recognized by the black, yellow, and orange bands of hair on the body (head, thorax, and abdomen).

Unfortunately, several species of bumble bee are similarly marked, but in our area, the black stripe across the thorax is a simple black stripe; another species has an uneven black stripe (Two-form Bumble Bee; Bombus bifarius).

Hunt Bumble Bees occur throughout the western US, but not so much in the coastal or desert regions. Around southern Nevada, look for this species up in the mountains, places like high on Mt. Charleston and Griffith Peak. Keep an eye out for this species in the Sheep Range.