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Bumblebees of Europe and neighbouring regions

  • December 2021
  • Editor: NAP Editions
  • ISBN: 978-2-913688-37-7
Authors:
Pierre Rasmont at Université de Mons
Pierre Rasmont
Guillaume Ghisbain at Université de Mons
Guillaume Ghisbain
Michael Terzo at Université de Mons
Michael Terzo
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Abstract

This guide is the third volume in a series on Hymenoptera of Europe. After a short introduction to this order of insects, the book provides a wealth of information on the bumblebees of Europe, northern Africa, the Caucasus and the Middle-East, covering the most recent scientific advances. A key allows the identification of the 14 subgenera of bumblebees present in this region. Then, for the first time, there are detailed identification keys for the 79 species of bumblebees found in Europe and neighbouring countries. Each species is presented with all its geographic variations as well as notes on its ecology, behaviour, flower preferences and conservation status. Original photos are included for each of the West Palearctic region species. Some extremely rare bumblebees are pictured for the very first time. The book also features many colour plates to help readers recognize over 240 forms and subspecies. Accessible to non-specialists, this is an invaluable reference guide to have in the field to discover the diversity of these magnificent pollinators!
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... Bees are not only key to the yield of ~85% of cultivated crop species globally, but also to the sexual reproduction of hundreds of thousands of other plant species, making them critical providers of ecosystem services (Garibaldi et al. 2013;Ollerton et al. 2011). In the last two decades however, high-profile reports have highlighted steep declines in both bee abundance and species diversity, most clearly in Europe and North America (Biesmeijer et al. 2006;Duchenne et al. 2020;LeBuhn & Vargas Luna 2021;Rasmont et al. 2021;Scheper et al. 2014;Zattara & Aizen 2021). Although a large part of the research on non-domesticated bees has focused on bumblebees (Cameron & Sadd 2020;Ghisbain 2021), there is mounting evidence that the patterns of decline are affecting many other bee genera (Nieto et al. 2014;Rasmussen et al. 2021;Zattara & Aizen 2021). ...
... As international trades continue to intensify with Europe, further newcomers are expected to establish on the continent in coming years. In parallel to human-driven transport, steadily increasing evidence shows that a subset of bee species and populations are expanding along at least one margin of their distribution range following global changes in temperature and habitats, as for instance observed in the expanding bumblebee species B. haematurus, B. schrenki and B. semenoviellus (reviewed in Ghisbain et al. 2021a andRasmont et al. 2021). ...
The new annotated checklist of the wild bees of Europe (Hymenoptera: Anthophila)
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2023
At a time when nature conservation has become essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of our environment, it is widely acknowledged that conservation actions must be implemented within a solid taxonomic framework. In preparation for the upcoming update of the IUCN Red List, we here update the European checklist of the wild bees (sensu the IUCN geographical framework). The original checklist, published in 2014, was revised for the first time in 2017. In the present revision, we add one genus, four subgenera and 67 species recently described, 40 species newly recorded since the latest revision (including two species that are not native to Europe), 26 species overlooked in the previous European checklists and 63 published synonymies. We provide original records for eight species previously unknown to the continent and, as original taxonomic acts, we provide three new synonyms, we consider two names as nomina nuda, ten names as nomina dubia, three as species inquirenda, synonymize three species and exclude 40 species from the previous checklist. Around a hundred other taxonomic changes and clarifications are also included and discussed. The present work revises the total number of genera for IUCN Europe to 77 and the total number of species to 2,138. In addition to specifying the taxonomic changes necessary to update the forthcoming Red List of European bees, we discuss the sampling and taxonomic biases that characterise research on the European bee fauna and highlight the growing importance of range expansions and species invasions.
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... Both managed and wild bumblebee species are economically important keystone pollinators of mostly temperate climates, and have relatively generalist diets (Velthuis and Van Doorn, 2006;Klein et al., 2007, but see Wood et al., 2021). A significant proportion of Bombus species show declining population trends (Cameron and Sadd, 2020;Rasmont et al., 2021), while a few remain stable or are currently expanding their distribution range Ghisbain et al., 2021). ...
... Bombus pascuorum (Figures 1A,B) and B. lapidarius (Figures 1D,E) are two common and widespread bumblebee species found across Europe in a wide range of environmental conditions . Both are generalist foragers found in almost all habitats, and for which high intraspecific variation has been described (Lecocq et al., , 2020Williams et al., 2020;Rasmont et al., 2021). In terms of nesting, both species prefer relatively sheltered areas, although B. lapidarius usually settle underground in different cavities, while B. pascuorum builds its nests more often aboveground on the soil surface among the thick grass or in abandoned bird nests or tree holes (Alford, 1975;Radchenko & Pesenko, 1994). ...
Signals of adaptation to agricultural stress in the genomes of two European bumblebees
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2022
Human-induced environmental impacts on wildlife are widespread, causing major biodiversity losses. One major threat is agricultural intensification, typically characterised by large areas of monoculture, mechanical tillage, and the use of agrochemicals. Intensification leads to the fragmentation and loss of natural habitats, native vegetation, and nesting and breeding sites. Understanding the adaptability of insects to these changing environmental conditions is critical to predicting their survival. Bumblebees, key pollinators of wild and cultivated plants, are used as model species to assess insect adaptation to anthropogenic stressors. We investigated the effects of agricultural pressures on two common European bumblebees, Bombus pascuorum and B. lapidarius. Restriction-site Associated DNA Sequencing was used to identify loci under selective pressure across agricultural-natural gradients over 97 locations in Europe. 191 unique loci in B. pascuorum and 260 in B. lapidarius were identified as under selective pressure, and associated with agricultural stressors. Further investigation suggested several candidate proteins including several neurodevelopment, muscle, and detoxification proteins, but these have yet to be validated. These results provide insights into agriculture as a stressor for bumblebees, and signal for conservation action in light of ongoing anthropogenic changes.
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... We ensured that every bumblebee subgenus occurring in our study area is represented in this set of species, following the latest subgeneric classification of ref. 51. All species retained for the analysis appeared sampled within their actual European range on the basis of the most updated understanding of their biogeography (more precisely discussed in ref. 5). Duplicate records were removed to reflect species presence rather than species density and to further decrease potential sampling biases. ...
Projected decline in European bumblebee populations in the twenty-first century
Article
Full-text available
Habitat degradation and climate change are globally acting as pivotal drivers of wildlife collapse, with mounting evidence that this erosion of biodiversity will accelerate in the following decades. Here, we quantify the past, present and future ecological suitability of Europe for bumblebees, a threatened group of pollinators ranked among the highest contributors to crop production value in the northern hemisphere. We demonstrate coherent declines of bumblebee populations since 1900 over most of Europe and identify future large-scale range contractions and species extirpations under all future climate and land use change scenarios. Around 38–76% of studied European bumblebee species currently classified as ‘Least Concern’ are projected to undergo losses of at least 30% of ecologically suitable territory by 2061–2080 compared to 2000–2014. All scenarios highlight that parts of Scandinavia will become potential refugia for European bumblebees; it is however uncertain whether these areas will remain clear of additional anthropogenic stressors not accounted for in present models. Our results underline the critical role of global change mitigation policies as effective levers to protect bumblebees from manmade transformation of the biosphere.
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... Bees behaving as primary nectar robbers are usually not equipped with specialised morphological structures to get access to the nectar, but instead mostly use their unspecialised mandibles to bite through the plant tissue (Macior 1966;Inouye 1983). However, in the two bumblebee species Bombus (Alpigenobombus) wurflenii Radoszkowski and B. (Bombus) occidentalis Greene occurring in mountaineous areas of Europe and western North America, respectively, the apical edge of the female mandible is not regularly rounded as in most other bumblebees but equipped with several teeth, which are assumed to facilitate the perforation of the plant tissue (Inouye 1983;Reinig and Rasmont 1988;Rasmont et al. 2021). As both species are regular and frequent nectar robbers (Løken 1950;Maloof 2001;Goulson et al. 2013), the toothed mandibles likely represent a morphological specialisation for primary nectar robbing. ...
Morphological specialisation for primary nectar robbing in a pollen specialist mining bee (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2023
The European mining bee species Andrena lathyri (Andrenidae) is a narrow specialist of flowers of Lathyrus and Vicia (Fabaceae), from which both females and males gain nectar by primary nectar robbing. Both sexes are equipped with a unique proboscis, which is much longer and more strongly angled than in most other Andrena bees including the most closely related species. The comparison between the shape of the proboscis and the interior of the host flowers combined with field observations revealed that the special-ised mouthparts of A. lathyri precisely correspond to the dimensions of the flower interior and the position of the nectary, representing one of the few known examples of a morphological adaptation to primary nectar robbing in bees. For nectar uptake, the bee's head is inserted laterally under the standard petal before it is moved towards the flower base, thereby slitting the calyx longitudinally to a depth necessary to reach the nectary from inside the flower with the specialised proboscis. Nectar-robbing individuals of A. lathyri are able to adapt their behaviour to the different calyx lengths of their host flower species by slitting the calyx over varying distances. Except for the slit in the calyx, primary nectar robbing by A. lathyri does not damage any flower parts allowing for normal fruit development.
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... This was based primarily on specimens examined in major collections in Europe, Asia and North America. Data were also added from many publications when records could be checked, including work on the bumblebees of China , the Himalaya (Williams, 2022), Europe (Rasmont et al., 2021;Rasmont & Flagothier, 1996), North America (Williams et al., 2014) and Mesoamerica (Labougle, 1990). Hines (2008) used an earlier and simplified version of these data from PW's NHM web pages (based on Williams, 1998a). ...
When did bumblebees reach South America? Unexpectedly old montane species may be explained by Mexican stopover (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
Article
A problem for understanding bumblebee biogeography is that if bumblebees dispersed from Asia through North America to South America, if they are poor at long-distance dispersal with establishment over sea, and if the land bridge between North and South America was not established until c. 3Ma BP, then there is an apparent conflict with the divergence among currently endemic South American lineages having been dated as early as 15–17 Ma. Using the first complete phylogenetic trees for all known and accepted extant species of the groups involved, we show how this conflict could be resolved. We suggest that characterizing bumblebees as being associated generally with temperate flower-rich meadows conflates divergent habitat specializations between two early lineages, associated with northern lowland grasslands and with southern montane grasslands respectively, which may have driven divergences in behaviour and in biogeographic processes. First, for most of the lowland grassland group of bumblebees, estimated dates of divergence are consistent with dispersal to South America via the land-bridge corridor that opened at c. 3Ma, followed by extant endemic lineages diverging in situ within South America. In contrast, for the second group that occupies montane grassland habitats (and for a few montane lineages of the ‘lowland’ group), we suggest that dispersal to South America at c. 3Ma could be consistent with older divergence for currently endemic species if: (1) many of the extant South American lineages had already diverged outside the region before 3Ma in neighbouring Mesoamerica; and (2) they had been constrained within the high mountains there, dispersing southwards into South America only once the isthmus corridor had become established; and (3) some of those ancestral montane lineages had become extirpated from Mesoamerica during subsequent warm climatic fluctuations. This interpretation re-emphasizes that biogeographic studies need to consider habitat-specific dispersal models that change through time.
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Bombus distinguendus Morawitz, 1869 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia: Distribution, ecology and conservation
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2023
We studied the distribution and ecology of Bombus distinguendus in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Today, this species is declining in Europe, including several regions where it has fallen to a critically low level or has become extinct. It is established that B. distinguendus is distributed over most of the territory of Arkhangelsk Oblast. This species has been recorded in various types of habitats, mainly on grassland. Its abundance is low throughout the territory. B. distinguendus feeds on a wide range of flowering plants. Phenologically, it belongs to the species of bumblebees with late development. The populations of B. distinguendus in Arkhangelsk Oblast are stable; it is recommended, however, to conduct regional monitoring of B. distinguendus.
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Die Hummelfauna des Diedamskopfes im Bregenzerwald (Vorarlberg, Österreich) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus)
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
At the Diedamskopf near Schoppernau (Bregenzerwald, Vorarlberg, Austria), 22 bumblebee species were recorded. The most common were B. pascuorum, B. wurflenii and B. hortorum. The rarest bumblebee species were B. sylvestris, B. bohemicus and B. humilis. 3 bumblebee species were found at each altitudinal level (B. hortorum, B. pascuorum, B. pratorum), B. quadricolor was found in only one. An alpine meadow above the mountain station was able to unite the most bumblebees at one site with 12 species. In the valley, the herb garden "Natur-Erlebnis Holdamoos" proved to be particularly attractive for bumblebees with 9 species. The decimation of bumblebee populations due to intensive agricultural use should be counteracted.
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Bombus terrestris terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) and hybrids with the endemic Bombus xanthopus spotted on Capraia Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy): some conservation management implications
Article
Full-text available
Expansion of wild and managed allochthonous species leads to potential negative consequences for the endemic wildlife, such as resource competition, pathogens spread, hybridization and native species replacements. On Capraia Island, the last sighting of Bombus terrestris terrestris dates back to 1917. All subsequent surveys carried out on the island only reported the presence of B. xanthopus and B. pascuorum melleofacies with B. t. terrestris apparently no longer existing in the area. In 2021 B. t. terrestris was again detected on the island raising two main hypotheses: (i) B. t. terrestris has always been present with a low population density, such as not to be detected in previous investigations, or (ii) its presence is the result of a more recent recolonization. The recolonization event may be promoted by either intentional or unintentional introduction or it may be the result of a natural migration from the mainland or surrounding islands. Hybridization between B. t. terrestris × B. xanthopus on Capraia Island has been also ascertained by the detection of hybrid queens, workers and males. These new finding provides insight on the distribution range of B. t. terrestris in the Tuscan Archipelago and raise concern on the conservation of the endemic B. xanthopus population.
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Nomada gransassoi Schwarz, 1986 neu für Deutschland sowie weitere bemerkenswerte Bienenfunde aus den Alpen (Hymenopera, Apiformes)
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2022
Nomada gransassoi Schwarz, 1986 new for Germany and further remarkable bee records in the alps (Hymenoptera, Apiformes) Nomada gransassoi is reported for the first time in Germany from the Allgäu Alps. Andrena montana, which was detected at the same time at the same site, is assumed to be the host. Both species have a similar overall distribution pattern. In addition, a key of the species of the Andrena bicolor-group form the German Alps is given. Distribution of A. montana and A. amieti is mapped and discussed. Also, a rare and completely black morphe of a Bombus mucidus worker is reported.
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Predicting negative Effects of Climate Change on Taiwan’s endemic Bumblebee Bombus formosellus
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Climate change is threatening biodiversity hotspots. Notably, alpine bumblebees, which are mostly associated with a cold ecological niche, face a higher risk of extinction. Bombus formosellus is one of the alpine bumblebees endemic to Taiwan. Aims/Methods: In this study, we use ensemble ecological niche modeling for the first time to predict spatial and temporal dynamics for habitats suitable to B. formosellus under current and future climate scenarios (representative concentration pathway, RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 in the 2070s). Results: This model identified that the cool temperature with low variation, a specific range of precipitation and presence of coniferous forest and grasslands were the key factors affecting the distribution of B. formosellus. Using modeling to predict suitable habitats under various scenarios, we discovered that, compared with the current climatic conditions, the predicted suitable habitat area in the future decreased regardless of which climate change scenario was applied. In particular, RCP 8.5 appeared to be the most significant, with an area loss of nearly 87%, and fragmentation of the landscape with poor connection. Discussion: In summary, our analyses indicate that cool environments are suitable for B. formosellus. However, Taiwan’s warming is more significant in the high mountains than in the plains. The climate change trajectory may become increasingly unfavorable to B. formosellus. Consequently, this species may face the risk of extinction in the future. Implications for insect conservation: We predict that many suitable habitats of B. formosellus will disappear or become fragmented in the future. Therefore, the remaining patches have become important refuges, and protection measures in these areas should be strengthened.
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