Bumblebees (Naturalists' Handbooks, 6, Band 6) - Softcover

Prys-Jones, Oliver E.; Corbet, Sarah A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1907807063 ISBN 13: 9781907807060

Verlag: Pelagic Publishing, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

An indispensable guide to identification, ecology and study of bumblebees. This new edition embraces the wealth of information published on bumblebee life history, ecology, foraging, parasites and conservation in recent years. It includes a new chapter on the very real threats to bumblebees; their crucial role as pollinators of our native flora and crops; ways to promote their survival; advantages and problems posed by their commercial use; as well as updated colour plates, keys and distribution maps of all British species (including Bombus hypnorum).

The book introduces techniques and approaches to original work so that anyone with an interest can usefully contribute to furthering our understanding and appreciation of these wonderful and important insects.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Oliver E Prys-Jones studied zoology at the University of St. Andrews and furthered a long term interest in bumblebees and their life histories with doctoral and research fellowship studies at the University of Cambridge. He subsequently qualified in medicine at Liverpool University and remains absorbed by bumblebees while working as a medical practitioner in North Wales.

Sarah A Corbet has taught entomology and ecology in London University and the University of Cambridge. Her research interest is in pollination ecology, with a special focus on bumblebees.

Dr Mark Avery is a senior UK conservationist with nearly four decades' experience of giving wildlife a better future. The author of numerous previous books, including Inglorious: Conflict in the Uplands (2015), Mark worked for the RSPB for 25 years before going freelance in 2011. He lives in rural Northamptonshire.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Bumblebees

Naturalists' Handbooks 6

By Oliver E. Prys-Jones, Sarah A. Corbet, Tony Hopkins

Pelagic Publishing

Copyright © 2011 Pelagic Publishing
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-907807-06-0

Contents

Preface, iv, 
Acknowledgements, v, 
Foreword by Mark Avery, vi, 
1 Introduction, 1, 
2 Distribution and recognition, 2, 
3 The natural history of true bumblebees, 8, 
4 Nests and their establishment in captivity, 27, 
5 Cuckoo bumblebees, parasites and nest associates, 34, 
6 Foraging behaviour, 42, 
7 Threats, conservation and commercial use, 62, 
8 Identification, 73, 
9 Approaches to original work, 94, 
10 Further reading, 108, 
11 Index, 116, 

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Bumblebees are likeable creatures, and are among the most attractive of British insects and the most amenable to study. Friendlier than honeybees, they do not sting unless severely molested. Furrier, more rotund and colourful, and often larger than honeybees, and conspicuous by their deep buzz and their habit of working in gardens, they are a familiar sight in summer in town and country.

In spring a bumblebee colony is founded by a queen, who has overwintered. Initially she lays eggs that give rise to workers. These look after the nest, defend it and collect food for it. Usually many workers are produced before eggs are laid which develop into males and young queens, who leave the nest and mate (see section 3.2).

The appeal of bumblebees as subjects for study is partly due to their predictable behaviour. Most animals are forever compromising between multiple objectives such as feeding, seeking a mate, laying eggs, and defending a territory. In contrast many of the bumblebees we see are foraging workers, whose main task is the collection of nectar and pollen to supply themselves and their colony. Because we can follow just what these foragers are doing we can begin to ask how well they are doing it, and this quantitative approach is facilitated by the ease with which the energy and water content of a flower's nectar can be measured (see sections 6.1 and 9.4). (Pollen collection is at least equally important, but more challenging to study.)

Bumblebees are interesting too for their social behaviour. Their colonies, rather small and lasting less than a year in temperate regions, are simpler to work with than those of honeybees and can be managed quite easily in nest-boxes.

Perhaps the most important practical element of interest is the role of bumblebees as pollinators, often underestimated and still poorly understood. Much more needs to be known about them as pollinators of crops and our native flora, and about their nesting requirements and biology. The need is urgent, as pressures on land use are intensifying, population sizes and the number of bumblebee species are declining markedly, and valuable bee-pollinated crops are put at risk of reduced yields.

CHAPTER 2

Distribution and recognition

2.1 Distribution and decline

The world fauna of bumblebees, about 250 species (Williams, 1998), is centred on the North Temperate Zone, extending through Europe, Asia and North America. Apart from some species in South America the only bumblebees native to the southern hemisphere are in the East Indian archipelago. British species (B. ruderatus, B. hortorum, B. terrestris and B. subterraneus) were established in New Zealand in the nineteenth century for clover pollination (Hopkins, 1914); and recently Bombus ruderatus has become established in South America, having been introduced to Chile from New Zealand for the same purpose (Arretz & Macfarlane, 1986). In addition, there has been an increasing number of accidental or intentional introductions, including B. lucorum, B hypnorum and B. pascuorum to Iceland (Pr?s-Jones & others, 1981; Olafsson and Kristjánsson, personal communication) and B. terrestris to Tasmania (Semmens & others, 1993, Buttermore, 1997), Israel and Japan (Dafni, 1998), among others; while non-native species and subspecies continue to be incidentally introduced on a large scale as a result of escapes from commercial bumblebee colonies used for glasshouse pollination (see Chapter 7). Out of their own environment such species have unforeseen and usually bad effects, outcompeting or interbreeding with local species (Kondo & others, 2009) and subspecies (Ings & others, 2010), thereby reducing biodiversity (Goka, 1998), and introducing diseases (Goka & others, 2001; Colla & others, 2006). There are very few sensible arguments in favour of the intentional introduction of a species to an area where it has not previously existed. The true scope of adverse effects of an introduction on the native flora and fauna is almost always unforeseeable. For pollination purposes local species should always be used in preference to imported non-native ones. A few countries, such as Norway and Israel, have taken a lead in banning the import of bumblebees. International legislation to further this aim is urgently needed, with particular controls on the commercial use of non-native species and subspecies.

The British bumblebee fauna of, currently, 24 species includes 18 'true' bumblebees (Bombus) and 6 parasitic 'cuckoo' bumblebees (previously in the genus Psithyrus, which is now regarded as a subgenus within the genus Bombus, Williams, 1998). It contains representatives of a wide range of subgeneric groups, which have recently been revised into a simpler scheme (Cameron & others, 2007; Williams & others, 2008), and we are fortunate in having a correspondingly wide diversity of ecology and behaviour to study. Since the last edition of this book we have gained B. hypnorum (Goulson & Williams, 2001), almost certainly through human agency; lost B. subterraneus to extinction; and also 'gained' B. cryptarum (Bertsch & others, 2004, 2005; Bertsch, 2009; Macdonald, 2006; Murray & others, 2008), a cryptic species that we already had but, embarrassingly, had not recognised!

When we compare the present distribution of true bumblebees in mainland Britain with records made before 1960, it is apparent that there have been marked changes over recent decades (fig. 1; Williams, 1982). Six species are widespread over much of Britain, and you can probably see most of them in any year: B. pascuorum, B. lucorum, B. hortorum, B. pratorum, B. terrestris and B. lapidarius. The newly arrived B. hypnorum is spreading, rapidly (see map p. 127), and may soon join this group. For convenience these widespread species are illustrated on the cover. Four species are very local and restricted to southern Britain, and their distributions have contracted: B. ruderatus, B. sylvarum, B. humilis, and B. ruderarius. Four others are widespread but very patchy, and have disappeared from many localities: B. muscorum, B. monticola, B. soroeensis and B. jonellus. B. magnus is one of the B. lucorum complex, along with B. cryptarum, and is associated with heath and moorland areas in the north and west. B. distinguendus is now rare and mainly restricted to coastal sites; although it was once widespread. Apart from B. subterraneus, last recorded in 1988 (but now being re-introduced at Dungeness in southern England), two other species, which were always uncommon, are presumed to be extinct: B. cullumanus and B. pomorum. Neither has been seen for many years.

The map (fig....

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Pelagic Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1907807063
• ISBN 13: 9781907807060
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Zeichner: Hopkins Anthony J.
• Auflage: 3
• Anzahl der Seiten: 130
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar