| Bombus ruderarius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Bombus |
| Subgenus: | Thoracobombus |
| Species: | B. ruderarius |
| Binomial name | |
| Bombus ruderarius | |
Bombus ruderarius, commonly known as the red-shanked carder bee or red-shanked bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee found in Eurasia. [2]
Though sometimes mistaken for Bombus lapidarius , Bombus ruderarius varies slightly in appearance from B. lapidarius in several ways. [3] Bombus ruderarius is a relatively small bumblebee with a wide abdomen, an oblong face, and a fairly long tongue. The queen has an average length of 17 mm (0.67 in) and a wingspan of 32 mm (1.3 in), [4] while the other castes are somewhat smaller; the workers have an average length of 15 mm (0.59 in) and the males 13 mm (0.51 in). [5] Their colour is prominently black, with a red tail; among males, however, a lighter form exists with yellow-green hairs on the thorax and the first two terga (abdominal segments). The corbicula (pollen basket) on the hind legs of females (queens and workers) is covered with yellow-red hair. [4]
The nest is constructed of grass or moss, on or slightly below ground, and typically contains 50 to 100 workers. [4] Often, old mouse nests in open grassland and scrubs are used. The species can, however, also appear in sparsely built-up urban areas as gardens and wasteland. [6] Food sources include deadnettles, clover, vetch, and legumes as bird's-foot trefoil. [4]
This species is found in Europe and northwest Asia from Ireland and Great Britain in the west to Siberia and northwest China in the east, northwards to the Gulf of Botnia and the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia, and southwards to North Africa, southern Italy, Greece, and the Balkans. The distribution is uneven; in North Africa it is considered very rare, while in places such as the east Pyrenees, it is very common, accounting for more than half of all bumblebees in the area. [7] In Britain, it is declining due to lack of habitat and restricted to southern England and western Scotland. [6] It is also an endangered species in Ireland. [8]
A bumblebee is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals.
Bombus lapidarius is a species of bumblebee in the subgenus Melanobombus. Commonly known as the red-tailed bumblebee, B. lapidarius can be found throughout much of Central Europe. Known for its distinctive black and red body, this social bee is important in pollination.
Volucella bombylans is a large species of hoverfly belonging to the family Syrphidae.
Bombus barbutellus, or Barbut's cuckoo-bee, is a species of cuckoo bumblebee, widespread, if not especially common, in most of Europe.
Bombus campestris is a very common cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe.
Bombus sylvestris, known as the forest cuckoo bumblebee or four-coloured cuckoo bee, is a species of cuckoo bumblebee, found in most of Europe and Russia. Its main hosts are Bombus pratorum, Bombus jonellus, and Bombus monticola. As a cuckoo bumblebee, Bombus sylvestris lays its eggs in another bumblebee's nest. This type of bee leaves their young to the workers of another nest for rearing, allowing cuckoo bumblebees to invest minimal energy and resources in their young while still keeping the survival of their young intact.
The broken-belted bumblebee or Ilfracombe bumblebee, Bombus soroeensis, is a species of bumblebee present in most of Europe and parts of Asia.
Bombus monticola, the bilberry bumblebee, blaeberry bumblebee or mountain bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee found in Europe.
The heath humble-bee or small heath bumblebee, Bombus jonellus, is a species of bumblebee, widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia, as well as northern North America.
Bombus pascuorum, the common carder bee, is a species of bumblebee present in most of Europe in a wide variety of habitats such as meadows, pastures, waste ground, ditches and embankments, roads, and field margins, as well as gardens and parks in urban areas and forests and forest edges. It is similar in appearance to Bombus muscorum, and is replacing the species in Northern Britain.
Bombus lucorum, the white-tailed bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee, widespread and common throughout Europe. This name has been widely used for a range of nearly identical-looking or cryptic species of bumblebees. In 1983, Scholl and Obrecht even coined the term Bombus lucorum complex to explain the three taxa that cannot be easily differentiated from one another by their appearances. A recent review of all of these species worldwide has helped to clarify its distribution in Europe and northern Asia, almost to the Pacific. B. lucorum reaches the Barents Sea in the North. However, in southern Europe, although found in Greece it is an upland species with its distribution never quite reaching the Mediterranean.
Bombus sylvarum, the shrill carder bee or knapweed carder-bee, is a species of bumblebee with a wide distribution across Europe, east to the Ural Mountains, and north to Great Britain, Ireland, and southern Scandinavia.
The brown-banded carder bee is a bumblebee found in most of Europe west of Russia, with the exception of Ireland and Iceland. It is also found in Turkey, on the Tibetan plateau, northern China, eastern and southern Mongolia, and parts of North Korea. In Britain, it is limited to the coast and chalkland areas of southern England. The brown-banded carder bee is similar in appearance to the moss carder bee. As they share similar habitats, care must be taken to distinguish between the two.
Bombus fervidus, the golden northern bumble bee or yellow bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to North America. It has a yellow-colored abdomen and thorax. Its range includes the North American continent, excluding much of the southern United States, Alaska, and the northern parts of Canada. It is common in cities and farmland, with populations concentrated in the Northeastern part of the United States. It is similar in color and range to the American bumblebee. It has complex behavioral traits, which includes a coordinated nest defense to ward off predators. B. fervidus is an important pollinator, so recent population decline is a particular concern.
Bombus muscorum, commonly known as the large carder bee or moss carder bee, is a species of bumblebee in the family Apidae. The species is found throughout Eurasia in fragmented populations, but is most commonly found in the British Isles. B. muscorum is a eusocial insect. The queen is monandrous, mating with only one male after leaving a mature nest to found its own. Males mate territorially and the species is susceptible to inbreeding and bottlenecks. The species builds its nests on or just under the ground in open grassland and forages very close to the nest. In recent years, populations have significantly declined due to loss of natural habitat. B. muscorum is currently listed as vulnerable in Europe by the European Red List of Bees.
Bombus centralis, the central bumblebee, is a species of bumble bee found in parts of Canada and the western United States. The species was first described by Ezra Townsend Cresson in 1864.
Bombus flavifrons, the yellow-fronted bumble bee or yellowhead bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee. It is native to North America, where it is distributed across much of Canada, Alaska, and the western contiguous United States.
Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee. It is native to much of the United States except for the Southwest, and to the southernmost regions of several of the provinces of Canada.
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