Bombus balteatus

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Bombus balteatus

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Bombus
Subgenus:
Alpinobombus
Species:
B. balteatus
Binomial name
Bombus balteatus

Bombus balteatus, the golden-belted bumble bee, is a species of bumblebee with a boreal and high altitude distribution in northern Eurasia and North America.

Range and distribution

This species is found in

Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains down south to New Mexico.[4] Their preferred habitat includes high altitude and boreal regions, and they are often found at higher elevations than the tree line.[1] Bombus balteatus is often most abundant where Castilleja, Chrysothammnus, and Mertensia plant species are common.[5] Some populations of bees, including in the Rocky Mountains, specifically Mount Blue Sky, Niwot Ridge
and Pennsylvania Mountain have declined in the 21st century.

Morphology

Bombus balteatus is a long-tongued bumblebee. Often the tongue length reaches two-thirds or more the length of the body.[5] This morphological feature allows them to specialize on flowers with long corollas.[6] In North America, workers can be identified by a distinctive black abdomen pattern and robust body.[5]

Systematics

The most closely related species are Bombus hyperboreus, Bombus frigidus, and Bombus mixtus, which all occur in Western North America and Arctic Europe.[5]

Effects of climate change

In the Rocky Mountains, USA, many native plants species include flowers with elongated corollas. With abundant resources, B. balteatus can be a dominant species in the ecosystem.[7] However, Rocky Mountain bumblebees, including B. balteatus and Bombus sylvicola, have shown changes in abundance and foraging range as long-tubed floral resources are declining at higher altitudes; they have also exhibited a trend towards shorter tongues over the last 40 years.[6] This is indicative of niche expansion; although this species of bumblebee is considered highly specialized, it is now adapting to forage on a broader range of morphologically diverse flowering plants.[6] Immigration by short-tongued bumble bees into higher altitudes, as well as an increase in the number of Bombus balteatus individuals with shorter tongues, has also occurred as a result of warming and climate change. This creates new competition for long-tongued B. balteatus for limited floral resources.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Hatfield, Richard. "IUCN Assessments for North American Bombus spp. for the North American IUCN Bumble Bee Specialist Group". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  2. ^ ITIS Report
  3. ^ "Map of Bombus balteatus". Discover Life. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  4. ^ "North American bumblebees". Bumblebee.org. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0691152226
    .
  6. ^
    PMID 26404836
    .
  7. PMID 26214921
    .
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