Bombus (Alpigenobombus) breviceps Smith

An, Jiandong, Huang, Jiaxing, Shao, Youquan, Zhang, Shiwen, Wang, Biao, Liu, Xinyu, Wu, Jie & Williams, Paul H., 2014, The bumblebees of North China (Apidae, Bombus Latreille), Zootaxa 3830 (1), pp. 1-89 : 69

69. Bombus (Alpigenobombus) breviceps Smith

( Figs 140, 141 )

Bombus nasutus Smith, 1852a:44 .

Bombus breviceps Smith, 1852a:44 . Bombus laticeps Friese, 1905:513 .

BOMBUS RUFOCOGNITUS Cockerell, 1922:4.

Material examined. 31 workers (IAB).

Distribution in North China. Only in the Qin-Ba mountains in southern Gansu and southern Shaanxi. Common at low to medium elevations of the Baishuijiang nature reserve in southernmost Gansu, and at low elevations of the Qingmuchuan nature reserve in southern Shaanxi. Rare at low to medium elevations of the Micangshan mountains in southern Shaanxi. 8 localities ( Fig. 140 ) between 719–1320 m (IAB).

Variation in North China. This species shows strong variation in the colour pattern of the hair across its global distribution ( Hines & Williams, 2012). In North China the principal variation is in the relative extent of yellow and black hair on T2 ( Fig. 141 ).

Distribution in China. Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu (IAB).

Forage plants. BUDDLEJACEAE : Buddleja officinalis ; CLUSIACEAE : Hypericum perforatum ; CUCURBITACEAE : Cucumis sativus , Cucurbita moschata ; FABACEAE : Melilotus albus ; LAMIACEAE : Salvia sp., Vitex negundo ; NYCTAGINACEAE : Mirabilis jalapa .

Figures

FIGURES 140 – 141. 140. Map showing the distribution of B. breviceps in North China with records as black spots, the province boundaries in dark grey, and all sites with records of all bumblebee species in light grey. 141. B. breviceps worker visiting Mirabilis jalapa (Nyctaginaceae) in Shaanxi.