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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #267830
Title: A guide to bumblebees of the Interior

Author
item PAMPELL, REHANON - University Of Alaska
item Pantoja, Alberto
item SIKES, DEREK - University Of Alaska
item HOLLOWAY, PATRICIA - University Of Alaska
item KNIGHT, CHARLES - State Of Alaska

Submitted to: Agroborealis
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/20/2011
Publication Date: 12/20/2011
Citation: Pampell, R., Pantoja, A., Sikes, D.S., Holloway, P., Knight, C. 2011. A guide to bumblebees of the Interior. Agroborealis. 42(1):56-67.

Interpretive Summary: Native bees, such as bumble bees, may be responsible for almost $3.07 billion of fruits and vegetables produced in the US. No published estimates of the value of bumble bee pollination for crops in Alaska are available. Imports of pollinators are becoming problematic with high transportation and packaging costs, disease, and concerns regarding non-native species affecting native beneficial insects and habitat. Also, honey bees are undergoing extensive die-offs which do not appear to have a single underlying cause. This phenomenon has been termed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Scientists predict that native bees will buffer potential declines in agricultural production due to CCD, but in many cases, as in Alaska, the native bee fauna is little known. This study presents a pictorial key to enable identification of common bumble bee species in interior Alaska.

Technical Abstract: Imports of pollinators are becoming problematic with high transportation and packaging costs, disease, and concerns regarding non-native species affecting native beneficial insects and habitat. Native bees, such as bumble bees, may be responsible for almost $3.07 billion of fruits and vegetables produced in the US. No published estimates of the value of bumble bee pollination for crops in Alaska are available. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the total number of bumble bee species present in Alaska with reports ranging from 18 to 28 species. The objective of this study was to develop a pictorial key to enable identification of common bumble bee species in interior Alaska and provide biological information on bumble bees biology.