Its range includes the North American continent, excluding much of the southern United States, Alaska, and the northern parts of Canada.

B. fervidus is a member of the order Hymenoptera, which comprises wasps, ants, bees, and sawflies.

[2] Bombus fervidus is on average 13–16 mm long[3] However, there are slight differences in morphology between queens, workers, and drones (see table below).

[8] B. fervidus is native to Canada, Mexico and the continental United States,[9] and individuals in its genetic lineage are more broadly distributed than previously suspected.

[2] The species prefers temperate savanna, grassland and tall grass biomes, and readily coexists with suburban or agricultural developments.

[10][11] The nest of B. fervidus is a loose mass of soft, lightly entangled grass mixed with goose or other feces that are most likely carried in and arranged by the bees themselves.

[3] Nests are typically within 50 meters of a food source sufficient to feed the entire growing colony.

Each future queen mates only once and stores the sperm for the remainder of her life, using it to produce all the subsequent female progeny.

When a worker emerges from its cocoon, it will devote most of its time toward developing the brood and consequently building a larger nest out of grass to accommodate the growing colony.

[8] Most B. fervidus do not live for more than a few months due to the toll hard work takes on the body and harsh winter weather.

In order to have enough of this food, B. fervidus spend a lot of time foraging for pollen and nectar, pollinating flowers in the process.

If the population grows too big, newly emerged queens may arise that must leave the nest early or even be killed by other workers before they mate.

[11] Conflict can arise because, although workers never mate, they are able to lay unfertilized eggs, which develop into males (drones).

[14] Like other hymenoptera, this species is haplodiploid, with haploid males arising from unfertilized eggs and diploid females.

Bombus fervidus workers typically search for food in the afternoon, which is often the hottest part of the day.

The bees' foraging behavior includes building stores or caches of foods such as nectar and pollen.

[7] Bombus fervidus is a nectarivore, meaning it mostly acquires nutrients from the sugar-rich nectar of flowering plants.

The long tongue of B. fervidus enables the bee to reach into longer deeper flowers, extracting the nectar before another competitor does.

[7] Species of plants visited include aster, black-eyed Susan, common milkweed, Queen Anne's lace, dandelions, bull thistle, goldenrod, jewelweed, devil's beggartick, Joe-pye weed, climbing bitter-sweet, black willow, yellow poplar, American holly, ragweed, greater bladderwort, blueberry, jimsonweed, honeysuckle, and rose mallow.

The bumblebee colony instead relies on individual foraging strategies, as their habitats mostly do not offer food sources that can efficiently be exploited by more than one worker.

If the disturbance is elevated, the bee will lie on its back and place its legs and feet in a position that implies it is preparing itself for whatever may come next.

[8] Thus, as a species, B. fervidus has a positive influence on humans as these bees help to pollinate many flowers, including major plant crops that are harvested as food.

Abundance declines have been observed across most of North America; the most apparent threat is the loss of its preferred grassland and tallgrass habitats to agricultural intensification.