Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus)

Weissmann, Julie A., Picanco, Ana, Borges, Paulo A. V. & Schaefer, Hanno, 2017, Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera), ZooKeys 642, pp. 63-95 : 70-71

Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus)

Description.

Large black bee (wing length 18 mm, total length 20-22 mm in queens; wing length 13 mm, total length 11-17 mm in workers; wing length 14 mm, total length 11-17 mm in males) with one strong brownish-yellow band on the thorax close to the head, a second one in the middle of the abdomen (tergite 2), and bright white tip of the abdomen (Fig. 3b, d, f).

Distinguishing features.

In contrast to Bombus ruderatus , only one yellowish band on the thorax, which is deeper in colour than in the previous species.

General distribution.

North Africa, Eurasia (Portugal to Norway in the North and Japan in the East), populations on the Canaries and Madeira have been described as distinct species but at least for Madeira, this is not supported ( Widmer et al. 1998, Williams et al. 2012); introduced and invasive in parts of Asia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and South America.

Distribution in the Azores.

All islands.

First record.

Williams et al. 2012 (no island specified).

Nesting.

Colonies of several 100 workers in existing holes in the ground.

Social behaviour.

Primitively eusocial.

Foraging.

Polylectic, visits a wide range of species, including endemics like Azorina vidalii ( Campanulaceae , Fig. 3d), and invasive exotics like Hedychium gardnerianum ( Zingiberaceae ) and Leycesteria formosa ( Caprifoliaceae ).

Phenology.

All year (queens flying December/January to March).

Material.

Graciosa, 1 worker; Flores (Santa Cruz and Lajes das Flores, from Japanese beetle trap), July 2016, 9 queens, 9 workers, all leg. H. Schaefer, coll. TUM (specimens B2, B47, B65-B67, B73-B87).

COI sequences of specimens H. Schaefer B65-B67 (TUM), acc. no. KX824773-75, are identical to a Bombus terrestris sequence from Denmark and a Bombus maderensis sequence from Madeira in GenBank but differ slightly from Bombus canariensis JQ769067 (see Fig. 2).