Bombus mesomelas
Mercantour, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Bombus
Species:
B. mesomelas
Binomial name
Bombus mesomelas
Gerstaecker, 1869

Bombus mesomelas (also called black-backed bumblebee) is a species of bumblebees.[1][2][3]

Description

Range

The nominate form lives in the Cantabrian Mountains, in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, in the Giant Mountains and in the Carpathian Mountains, less often in the Central European Central Mountains. The subspecies Bombus mesomelas alboluteus VOGT, 1909 is disjointly distributed with a western population in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula and an eastern one in the East Anatolian highlands, the Caucasus up to the Elburs. Lost in Germany, proven from Thuringia, Saxony and Bavaria (last find 1956). In Austria, with the exception of Burgenland, reported from all federal states. In Switzerland in the entire Alpine region and the Jura, historically also from the northern Alpine foothills.[4][5]

Habitat

The species is found on sunny mountain slopes.[4] It favours dry and warm locations in the middle and high mountains. From the montane to the alpine altitude, in Central Europe already from 600 m.[4]

Ecology

The species is univoltine. The overwintered females appear around the end of May, young females and males from the end of August.[4] Bombus mesomelas is a polylectic species. It nests mainly underground in abandoned mouse kettles, then nest-maker, but seldom also in the herb layer, then nest-builder. The species is a Pocketmaker.[4] The colonies comprise 50 to 120 individuals.[5]

Etymology

From the Greek "meso" = "middle "and "mela " = "black"; because of the transverse band of black hair between the wings.[4]

Taxonomy

Subgenus Thoracobombus DALLA TORRE, 1880.[5]

In Central Europe in the subspecies Bombus mesomelas mesomelas GERSTAECKER, 1869 occurs.[5]

Synonyms: Megabombus mesomelas (GERSTAECKER, 1869); Bombus elegans mesomelas (GERSTAECKER, 1869); Bombus pomorum var.mesomelas (GERSTAECKER, 1869).[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Black-backed Bumble Bee (Bombus mesomelas)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  2. ↑ "Bombus mesomelas Gerstäcker, 1869". www.gbif.org. GBIF. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  3. ↑ "ITIS - Report: Bombus mesomelas". itis.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Westrich, Paul 1947- (2019). Die Wildbienen Deutschlands. ISBN 978-3-8186-0881-1. OCLC 1190164412.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Erwin., Scheuchl (2016). Taschenlexikon der Wildbienen Mitteleuropas : alle Arten im Porträt. ISBN 978-3-494-01653-5. OCLC 1041414212.
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