Pattern of population structuring between Belgian and Estonian bumblebees

Several population genetic studies investigated the extent of gene flow and population connectivity in bumblebees. In general, no restriction in gene flow is considered for mainland populations of common bumblebee species. Whether this assumption holds true for all species is not known. An assessment of bumblebee genetic structure in the context of their geographic distribution is needed to prioritize conservation and management needs. Here, we conducted a genetic study on seven bumblebee species occurring in Belgium and Estonia. Using 16 microsatellite markers, we investigated genetic diversity and population structuring in each species. This is the first study investigating population structuring of both declining and stable bumblebee species on both small and large geographic scales. Our results showed no or only low population structuring between the populations of the restricted and declining bumblebee species on both scales, while significant structuring was found for populations of the common species on the larger scale. The latter result, which may be due to human or environmental changes in the landscape, implies the need for the conservation of also widespread bumblebee species. Conservation strategies to improve gene flow and connectivity of populations could avoid the isolation and future losses of populations of these important species

Cosmological implications of Bumblebee vector models

The Bumblebee Model of spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking is explored in a cosmological context, considering a single non-zero time component for the vector field. The relevant dynamic equations for the evolution of the Universe are derived and its properties and physical significance studied. We conclude that a late-time de Sitter expansion of the Universe can be replicated, and attempt to constrain the parameter of the potential driving the spontaneous symmetry breaking.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in PR

A game demonstrating aspects of bumblebee natural history

The Bumblebee Game is an exciting outdoor game, which demonstrates aspects of bumblebee natural history including food chains, food webs and competition for food, predation by crab spiders, parasitism by Conopidae (Diptera) and brood parasitism by cuckoo bees. It has been played successfully with groups of 10-25 people. Although most suitable for 6-14 year olds, adults have had a lot of fun playing this game

Review of the methods to determine the hazard and toxicity of pesticides to bumblebees

Methods to determine the impact of pesticides on bumblebees are described. They are classified into laboratory tests to determine the acute toxicity and the hazard to bumblebees, (semi) field tests, and brood tests. The reproducibility and the significance of the data for practical purpose are discussed. Standardized laboratory toxicity tests supply reproducible data. In hazard tests, both in the laboratory and semi field tests, the exposure is not proportionate to the number of adult insects and the brood. Field tests provide realistic data on the hazard of a pesticide to bumblebee colonies but when the results are interpreted it must be taken in account that the test plot is only a portion of the total foraging area of a bumblebee colony. In a brood nest, due to the disorderly structure, only major effects can be recognized. Laboratory rearing of bumblebee brood should be developed to produce a standardized brood test that supplies reproducible dat

Insects Associated with Michigan Bumblebees (\u3ci\u3eBombus\u3c/i\u3e Spp.)

(excerpt) Studies of insect associates of bumblebees are not new. For example, Tuck (1896, 1897) reported over 50 species of insects associated with nests of British bumblebees. Sladen (1912) discussed nest associates and parasites of European bumblebees, and Plath (1934) published similar data for American bumblebees. Postner (1952) published more detailed data. He listed over 60 taxa of insects associated with bumblebees near Erlangen, Germany

Spatial Relation of Bumblebees (Hymenoptera-Apidae) with Host-Plant and their Conservation Issues: An Outlook from Urban Ecosystem of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Ecology and conservation status of bumblebee species remains poorly understood, especially in rapidly degrading urban ecosystems, which is important considering the role of bumblebees in the pollinations. We collected more than 200 bumblebee (Bombus spp.) specimens under six species in different parts of the Kathmandu valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur cities) in Nepal. The species of bumblebees were analyzed with their host plant types and the land use change using remote sensing and field observation data. We found that the bumblebees exert strong variation and were significantly affected by the families of the host plants and the nature of flowers (open and closed type) rather than colors and categories (invasive and noninvasive). We underline that the rapid habitat loss by changing land use in the study area can be a potential threat to the conservation of these important pollinators, and thus, need focused habitat conservation efforts

Constructing a Stochastic Model of Bumblebee Flights from Experimental Data

PMCID: PMC3592844This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Mapping species distributions: A comparison of skilled naturalist and lay citizen science recording

To assess the ability of traditional biological recording schemes and lay citizen science approaches to gather data on species distributions and changes therein, we examined bumblebee records from the UK’s national repository (National Biodiversity Network) and from BeeWatch. The two recording approaches revealed similar relative abundances of bumblebee species but different geographical distributions. For the widespread common carder (Bombus pascuorum), traditional recording scheme data were patchy, both spatially and temporally, reflecting active record centre rather than species distribution. Lay citizen science records displayed more extensive geographic coverage, reflecting human population density, thus offering better opportunities to account for recording effort. For the rapidly spreading tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), both recording approaches revealed similar distributions due to a dedicated mapping project which overcame the patchy nature of naturalist records. We recommend, where possible, complementing skilled naturalist recording with lay citizen science programmes to obtain a nation-wide capability, and stress the need for timely uploading of data to the national repository