Buff‐tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris as a potential nest site competitor for the endangered forty‐spotted pardalote Pardalotus quadragintus

Abstract

This note documents the first record of the invasive buff‐tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris nesting in an above‐ground nest box deployed for birds in Australia. The box in question had been installed as nesting habitat for the endangered forty‐spotted pardalote Pardalotus quadragintus on Bruny Island, Tasmania. The bumblebee nest appeared to be constructed on a partially built pardalote nest inside the box and so may have caused the abandonment of a nesting attempt by pardalotes. However, the remains of this bumblebee nest were not large enough to prevent forty‐spotted pardalotes constructing a nest in the box during the subsequent breeding season. Further research will be needed to ascertain the degree to which bumblebees disrupt breeding of forty‐spotted pardalotes.