Bombus glacialis belongs to the group of Bombus lapponicus. It is often considered as a ssp. of B. monticola. However, glacialis seems above all very poorly known. When having in hand some specimens it appears much taller than monticola, with conspicuously different coat.
The distribution of Bombus glacialis is quite special : it is the most northern of the West-Palaearctic bumblebees and is found only on Novaia Zemlia, on Wrangel Is. and on Kolguyev Is. These islands are more than 3000 km apart and, nevertheless, the resemblance between the populations from Novaia Zemlia and Wrangel is quite striking.
P. Rasmont