The nesting places of some British bumble bees

Fussell, M.; Corbet, Sarah A.

doi:10.1080/00218839.1992.11101258

Cited by 60 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Wild colonies are typically in the burrows and nests of small mammals (Fussell and Corbet 1992), and the entrances are often hidden amongst vegetation. The entrances of artificial colonies tend to be comparatively short compared with the several metres of tunnels typical of some species such as B. terrestris (Sladen 1912;Carvell et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worker drift and egg dumping by queens in wild Bombus terrestris colonies

O’Connor

Park

Goulson

2013

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Wild bumblebee colonies are hard to find and often inaccessible, so there have been few studies of the genetic structure of bumblebees within natural colonies, and hence, it is not clear how frequently events such as worker reproduction, worker drift and queen usurpation take place. This study aimed to quantify the occurrence of natal-worker reproduction, worker drift and drifter reproduction within 14 wild colonies of Bombus terrestris in Central Scotland. Four unlinked microsatellites were used to identify patterns of relatedness of the colonies' adults and broods. In colonies with queens (queenright colonies), worker reproduction accounted for just 0.83 % of males, increasing to 12.11 % in queenless colonies. Four colonies contained a total of six workers which were not daughters of the queen, and were assumed to be drifters, and four male offspring of drifters. Drifting is clearly not common and results in few drifter offspring overall, although drifters produced approximately seven times more offspring per capita than workers that remained in their natal colony. Unexpectedly, two colonies contained clusters of sister workers and juvenile offspring that were not sisters to the rest of the adults or brood found in the colonies, demonstrating probable egg dumping by queens. A third colony contained a queen which was not a sister or daughter to the other bees in the colony. Although usurping of bumblebee colonies by queens in early season is well documented, this appears to be the first record of egg dumping, and it remains unclear whether it is being carried out by old queens or newly mated young queens

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worker drift and egg dumping by queens in wild Bombus terrestris colonies

O’Connor

Park

Goulson

2013

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Examples are known from the Netherlands (Kwak, 1996), the USA (Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission; Xerces Society), and Britain (Fussell and Corbet, 1992;Osborne et al, 2008a). There are currently at least seven voluntary bumblebee surveys being co-ordinated in Britain.…”

Section: Mitigation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The availability of suitable nest sites and the distribution of bumblebee colonies is far less easy to assess than forage availability and worker activity, so there are correspondingly fewer data (Skovgaard, 1936;Richards, 1978;Harder, 1986;Fussell and Corbet, 1992;Osborne et al, 2008a). Intensive management of crops and grassland (ploughing and cutting) has led to bumblebee nests being concentrated in the less disturbed edge features around fields, such as hedgerows, fence-lines and unmanaged strips of vegetation (Fussell and Corbet, 1992;Svensson et al, 2000;Kells and Goulson, 2003;Osborne et al, 2008a). Keeping grass cut short severely affects the survival of surface nests (Fussell and Corbet, 1992).…”

Section: Threatening Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intensive management of crops and grassland (ploughing and cutting) has led to bumblebee nests being concentrated in the less disturbed edge features around fields, such as hedgerows, fence-lines and unmanaged strips of vegetation (Fussell and Corbet, 1992;Svensson et al, 2000;Kells and Goulson, 2003;Osborne et al, 2008a). Keeping grass cut short severely affects the survival of surface nests (Fussell and Corbet, 1992). That bumblebees can be flexible about nesting sites may be evidenced by Dungeness, which in the period probably had the largest bumblebee fauna in Britain, despite being almost covered with a coarse shingle substrate that restricts nestsite choices by bumblebees.…”

Section: Threatening Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bumblebee vulnerability and conservation world-wide

2009

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-We review evidence from around the world for bumblebee declines and review management to mitigate threats. We find that there is evidence that some bumblebee species are declining in Europe, North America, and Asia. People believe that land-use changes may be having a negative effect through reductions in food plants in many parts of the world, but that other factors such as pathogens may be having a stronger effect for a few species in some regions (especially for Bombus s. str. in North America). Evidence so far is that greater susceptibility to land-use change is associated world-wide with small climatic ranges, range edges, and late-starting colony-development cycles. More evidence is needed on the roles of pollen specialization, nest sites, hibernation sites, and pesticides. It is still too early to assess the success of schemes aimed at improving forage in agricultural and conservation areas. However, schemes aimed at raising public awareness have been very successful. Until proven safe, we recommend that live bumblebees should not be moved across continents or oceans for commercial pollination.bumblebee / Bombus / threat / vulnerability / decline / conservation

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“…carabid beetles (Bohan et al 2000;Symondson et al 1996). Margins provide resources for birds (Bradbury et al 2000;Brickle et al 2000;Lack 1992;Peach et al 2001;Potts 1986) and bees (Fussell & Corbet 1992b;Svensson et al 2000), and may be the only source of nectar and pollen in arable landscapes through much of the season.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invertebrates and vegetation of field margins adjacent to crops subject to contrasting herbicide regimes in the Farm Scale Evaluations of genetically modified herbicide–tolerant crops

Roy

Bohan

Haughton

et al. 2003

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

104

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The effects of management of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops on adjacent field margins were assessed for 59 maize, 66 beet and 67 spring oilseed rape sites. Fields were split into halves, one being sown with a GMHT crop and the other with the equivalent conventional non-GMHT crop. Margin vegetation was recorded in three components of the field margins. Most differences were in the tilled area, with fewer smaller effects mirroring them in the verge and boundary. In spring oilseed rape fields, the cover, flowering and seeding of plants were 25%, 44% and 39% lower, respectively, in the GMHT uncropped tilled margins. Similarly, for beet, flowering and seeding were 34% and 39% lower, respectively, in the GMHT margins. For maize, the effect was reversed, with plant cover and flowering 28% and 67% greater, respectively, in the GMHT half. Effects on butterflies mirrored these vegetation effects, with 24% fewer butterflies in margins of GMHT spring oilseed rape. The likely cause is the lower nectar supply in GMHT tilled margins and crop edges. Few large treatment differences were found for bees, gastropods or other invertebrates. Scorching of vegetation by herbicide-spray drift was on average 1.6% on verges beside conventional crops and 3.7% beside GMHT crops, the difference being significant for all three crops.

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The nesting places of some British bumble bees

Cited by 60 publications

References 22 publications

Worker drift and egg dumping by queens in wild Bombus terrestris colonies

Worker drift and egg dumping by queens in wild Bombus terrestris colonies

Bumblebee vulnerability and conservation world-wide

Invertebrates and vegetation of field margins adjacent to crops subject to contrasting herbicide regimes in the Farm Scale Evaluations of genetically modified herbicide–tolerant crops

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