Description published
Schönherr, C.H., 1809. Entomologiska anmärkningar och beskriftningar på några för svenska fauna nya insecter. K. Svenska Vetensk. Akad. Handl. 30, 48-58
Location of type
Female; Naturhistorika Riksmuseum, Stockholm. Holotype, Male, Bombus hyperboreus var. natvigi Richards, 1931, from Vinterhavnen, Grønland. Col.: Naturhistorisk Museum, UiO.
Description
Schönherr (1809) describes the taxon as follows: 'Hirsutus ater, thorace antice posticeque abdomineque antice fulvo. Apis Arctica, Acerbi Travels through Sweden;' In addition to a coloured illustration Acerbi (1802, p. 253, plate 1) presents his Apis Arctica by the following description of Quensel: "nigra - thorace antice posticeque fulvo, abdomines supra fascilis flavi fulvisque." In the drawing at least T1-4 are fulvo, but the colour in the pile of T5-6 is uncertain as the abdominal tip is covered by left forewing. B. hyperboreus is however characterized by T3-6 being black-haired. Even though the drawing is deceptive and the description of Apis arctica Quensel in Acerbi = Apis arctica Acerbi nec Kirby 1821 nec Dahlbom, 1832 is not quite corresponding to that of B. hyperboreus, I think they are identical taxa. A remark (Dahlbom 1837) that B. hyperboreus was discovered by Acerbi attests the synonymy. Only rarely has B. arcticus been applied to this taxon (Richards 1931) and to my knowledge not at all in the last 50 years, while the junior synonym B. hyperboreus is regularly used since the designation in 1809. To avoid nomenclatural confusion B. hyperboreus is kept and B. arcticus (Quensel in Acerbi), also being a homonym, is considered as nomen oblitum.
Colony size
n/a