Illustration of a Bombus terrestris queen. Although native to Europe, it has been introduced to numerous locations around the world to provide pollination services, especially in greenhouse operations. You can find these bees in almost every state of the US—except Oregon, where it is illegal to import non-native bee species due to disease concerns. However, as they are used in hothouse operations in both Washington and California, it is only a matter of time before they can be found in Oregon.
Bombus terrestris was introduced to New Zealand because of the relatively poor pollinator diversity, and no native social bees. They have naturalized in the environment and now cover most of the north and south island.