| Bombus cullumanus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, 2016 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Bombus |
| Subgenus: | Cullumanobombus |
| Species: | B. cullumanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bombus cullumanus | |
Bombus cullumanus, Cullum's bumblebee or Cullum's humble-bee. is a species of bumblebee found in Europe and Asia. [1]
The females (queen and workers) are black with red tails and usually with yellow hairs intermixed with the black on the collar and scutellum. The male is black with yellow face, the two anterior terga (abdominal segments) pale and with a red tail. [2]
The species was once found in southern England, southern Sweden, Denmark, north-western Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France. Its distribution has diminished considerably, and it is restricted to the Massif Central and the Pyrenees. [3] Some scientists, however, claim that this species is conspecific with other, Asian bumblebees, as B. serrisquama and B. apollineus (B. cullumanus serrisquama and B. cullumanus apollineus, respectively, when considered subspecies of B. cullumanus). [4] The distribution for B. c. serrisquama is large but spotty; from the steppe of northern Spain over Hungary to the northern Altai and in the south the steppes of south-east Kazakhstan, eastern Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kirgiztan, and Afghanistan. Recently (1998), it has been found in north-eastern Turkey. B. c. apollineus is found in eastern Turkey, Transcaucasia and northern Iran. [3]
This bumblebee is predominantly a grassland species; [2] the B. c. serrisquama subspecies, however, is a mountain bumblebee, living from 1,650 to 3,200 m (5,410 to 10,500 ft) above sea level. [5]
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.
The early bumblebee or early-nesting bumblebee is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in most of Europe and parts of Asia. It is very commonly found in the UK and emerges to begin its colony cycle as soon as February which is earlier than most other species, hence its common name. There is even some evidence that the early bumblebee may be able to go through two colony cycles in a year. Like other bumblebees, Bombus pratorum lives in colonies with queen and worker castes. Bombus pratorum queens use aggressive behavior rather than pheromones to maintain dominance over the workers.
The tree bumblebee or new garden bumblebee is a species of bumblebee common in the European continent and parts of Asia. Since the start of the twenty-first century, it has spread to Great Britain. These bumblebees prefer habitats that others do not, allowing them to pollinate flowers in areas that many other species do not get to.
Bombus barbutellus, or Barbut's cuckoo-bee, is a species of cuckoo bumblebee, widespread, if not especially common, in most of Europe.
Bombus vestalis, the vestal cuckoo bumblebee, is a species of cuckoo bumblebee that lives in most of Europe, as well as North Africa and western Asia. It is a brood parasite that takes over the nests of other bee species. Its primary host is Bombus terrestris. After its initial classification as Psithyrus vestalis, this bumblebee recently was reclassified into the genus Bombus, subgenus Psithyrus.
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.
Bombus bohemicus, also known as the gypsy's cuckoo bumblebee, is a species of socially parasitic cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe with the exception of the southern Iberian Peninsula and Iceland. B. bohemicus practices inquilinism, or brood parasitism, of other bumblebee species. B. bohemicus is a generalist parasite, successfully invading several species from genus Bombus. The invading queen mimics the host nest's chemical signals, allowing her to assume a reproductively dominant role as well as manipulation of host worker fertility and behavior.
The broken-belted bumblebee or Ilfracombe bumblebee is a species of bumblebee present in most of Europe and parts of Asia.
Bombus wurflenii is a species of bumblebee found in several parts of central and northern Europe to Turkey and the Crimea peninsula in the southeast.
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 consobrinus is a species of bumblebee found in Hungary, northern Scandinavia, Kazakhstan, Russia, China, North and South Korea, and Japan.
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.
Pyrobombus is a subgenus of bumblebees, with its centres of diversity in Central Asia and north-western North America. Nearly a fifth of all Bombus species fall within Pyrobombus and its member species vary considerably in size, appearance and behaviour. it covers 43 species of bees and is the largest subgenus of bumblebees, covering almost 50% of the North American fauna. They are seen to be declined by 6%, which may be an undervalued statistic, although not as high as other groups of bees. Pyrobombus bees also face issues such as climate change, loss of habitat, urbanization, and industrial agriculture. This subgenus of bees can pollinate which helps plants fertilise and grow fruit that is essential to the biodiversity and life of the environment. Commonly, Pyrobombus bees are used for beekeeping as they are pollinators. They can be for wax, honey, venom, combs, and such which may be collected for commercial use. This subgenus may vary in their characteristics such as body size, wingspan, and tongue length for individual species, but like all bees, they possess wings, a head, thorax, and abdomen.
Bombus ruderarius, commonly known as the red-shanked carder bee or red-shanked bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee found in Eurasia.
Bombus erzurumensis is a species of bumblebee found in Turkey and northern Iran.
Bombus argillaceus is a bumblebee species of the subgenus Megabombus, distributed from south and south-eastern Europe to western Asia.
The apple humble-bee or apple bumblebee is a species of bumblebee.
