Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318870
Title: Bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus spp.) of interior Alaska: Species composition, distribution, seasonal biology, and parasites

Author
item Pampell, Rehanon
item SIKES, DEREK - University Of Alaska
item Pantoja, Alberto
item HOLLOWAY, PATRICIA - University Of Alaska
item KNIGHT, CHARLES - State Of Alaska
item Ranft, Richard

Submitted to: Biodiversity Data Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2015
Publication Date: 5/8/2015
Citation: Pampell, R.A., Sikes, D., Pantoja, A., Holloway, P., Knight, C., Ranft, R. 2015. Bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus spp.) of interior Alaska: Species composition, distribution, seasonal biology, and parasites. Biodiversity Data Journal. 3: e5085. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e5085.

Interpretive Summary: A total of 8,250 bumble bees representing 18 species was collected from agricultural settings near Delta Junction, Fairbanks, and Palmer, Alaska in 2009 and 2010. Of the 8,250 specimens, 51% were queens, 32.7% were workers, and 16.2% were males. The species composition and relative abundances varied among sites and years. Delta Junction had the highest relative abundance of bumble bees, representing 51.6% of the specimens collected; the other two locations, Fairbanks and Palmer represented 26.5% and 21.8% of the overall catch respectively. The species collected were: Bombus bohemicus Seidl 1837 (= Beta ashtoni (Cresson 1864)), Beta balteatus Dahlbom 1832, Beta bifarius Cresson 1878, Beta centralis Cresson 1864, Beta cryptarum (Fabricius 1775) (=Beta moderatus Cresson 1863), Beta distinguendus Morawitz 1869, Beta flavidus Eversmann 1852 (= Beta fernaldae Franklin 1911), Beta flavifrons Cresson 1863, Beta frigidus Smith 1854, Beta insularis (Smith 1861), Beta jonellus (Kirby 1802), Beta melanopygus Nylander 1848, Beta mixtus Cresson 1878, Beta neoboreus Sladen 1919, Beta occidentalis Greene 1858, Beta perplexus Cresson 1863, Beta rufocinctus Cresson 1863, and Beta sylvicola Kirby 1837. Overall, the most common bumble bees near agricultural lands were Beta centralis, Beta frigidus, Beta jonellus, Beta melanopygus, Beta mixtus, and Beta occidentalis. Species' relative population densities and local diversity were highly variable from year to year. Bombus occidentalis, believed to be in decline in the Pacific Northwest states, represented 10.4% of the overall specimens collected from the three sites studied. Bumble bees were found to be infected by Nosema and nematodes with infection rates up to 2.1% and 16.7% respectively. Of the eight species infected by parasites, Beta occidentalis displayed the highest Nosema infection, while Beta centralis was the species with the highest infection of nematodes. To our knowledge this represents the first multi-year study on bumble bees from the main agricultural areas of Alaska to provide baseline data on species composition, distribution, seasonal biology, and parasites of the genus Bombus.

Technical Abstract: Despite the ecological and agricultural significance of bumble bees in Alaska, very little is known and published about this important group at the regional level. The objectives of this study were to provide baseline data on species composition, distribution, seasonal biology, and parasites of the genus Bombus at three major agricultural locations within Alaska: Fairbanks, Delta Junction, and Palmer, to lay the groundwork for future research on bumble bee pollination in Alaska.