Habitat and forage associations of a naturally colonising insect pollinator, the tree bumblebee Bombus hypnorum.

ABSTRACT: Bumblebees (Bombus species) are major pollinators of commercial crops and wildflowers but factors affecting their abundance, including causes of recent population declines, remain unclear. Investigating the ecology of species with expanding ranges provides a potentially powerful means of elucidating these factors. Such species may also bring novel pollination services to their new ranges. We therefore investigated landscape-scale habitat use and foraging preferences of the Tree Bumblebee, B. hypnorum, a recent natural colonist that has rapidly expanded its range in the UK over the past decade. Counts of B. hypnorum and six other Bombus species were made in March-June 2012 within a mixed landscape in south-eastern Norfolk, UK. The extent of different landscape elements around each transect

SUBMITTER: Crowther LP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4178030 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature