[7] Because of differences in genetic structuring between these populations in various geographic locations, there had been debate as early as 2013 suggesting these two major color pattern polymorphisms might represent more than one biological species.

[5] Bombus vancouverensis forages for pollen and nectar from the following plants: Aster, Centaurea, Chrysothamnus, Cirsium, Epilobium, Ericameria, Haplopappus, Helenium, Lupinus, Melilotus, Monardella, Penstemon, Ribes, Senecio, Solidago, and Symphoricarpos.

In the United States, it has been found in parts of Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

[3][7] In Canada, it has been found in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Yukon.

[3][7] B. vancouverensis makes its home in various habitats, including open grassy fields, parks, prairies, shrubs, and mountainous areas.

[10] These offspring then leave the nest and mate with non-nestmates, and young queens that have been inseminated enter hibernation until the following spring when they found their new colony.

[11] Often, the duration of mating interactions between males and B. vancouverensis queens are long, lasting up to forty-five minutes.

[11] Bombus vancouverensis and B. frigidus prefer to mate with non-nestmates, so they have evolved a number of strategies to determine which individuals are kin and which are not.

[4] However, not all encounters fall under the category of environmental cues; B. vancouverensis is one of the few bumblebee species that can also determine kin using individually-borne methods.

[11] Bombus vancouverensis males often compete for access to females, which has caused them to evolve strategies to ensure that they successfully complete the mating process with a chosen queen.

[10] Keeping the nest environment at an optimal temperature is a crucial aspect of survival, especially for developing brood.

[9] Studies have shown that B. vancouverensis workers are capable of regulating nest temperature; they do this in a number of ways, namely by changing the rates at which they perform specific behaviors of wing fanning and brood cell incubation.