Meadow bumblebee

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Meadow bumblebee
Meadow bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)

Meadow bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum )

Systematics
Superfamily : Apoidea
without rank: Bees (Apiformes)
Family : Apidae
Subfamily : Apinae
Genre : Bumblebees ( bombus )
Type : Meadow bumblebee
Scientific name
Bombus pratorum
( Linnaeus , 1761)
Meadow bumblebee

The meadow bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) belongs to the genus of bumblebees .

features

The meadow bumblebees are one of the smaller bumblebee species. The workers and drones do not grow taller than 14 mm and the queens 15 to 17 mm. Its collar and the second abdominal segment are yellow, the top of the posterior segment ( tergite ) is orange. The body and collar are hairy, as is common with bumblebees. Color variations are possible. The first workers can be very small. Their head is short to medium in length with a trunk 8 to 14 mm in length.

Occurrence

Meadow bumblebees occur all over Europe, with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula . However, they do not form states far in the north. You can find them in light forests, on meadows, in parks and gardens. They are counted among the hemerophiles and ubiquists .

food

Their diet consists of the nectar and pollen of various plants. So far, more than 130 plant species have been identified as a source of food. These include columbine , common ziest , motherwort , currant , chestnut , lupine , red clover , celandine , black nettle , gooseberry , dead nettle .

Way of life

Meadow bumblebee queens overwinter in a sheltered place in the ground and fly early in the year, usually as early as March, in search of a suitable nesting site. You can usually find it above ground in the bushes, in hedges or in crevices in the wall. However, an abandoned mouse nest can sometimes serve as a shelter. They build their first honeycombs themselves, fill them with a mixture of nectar and pollen and lay their first eggs. The larvae hatch from this and pupate after 5 to 10 days ( holometabolic insects ). After the metamorphosis , the first workers immediately take on further brood care and food procurement. Depending on the food supply and health, a meadow bumblebee colony has a size of 50 to 120 animals.

At the height of the life cycle of the bumblebee colony, the queen produces the drones from unfertilized eggs ( parthenogenesis ) and the young queens. After their wedding flight , the drones usually die off, and the young queens usually hide in August in order to found a new state the following year. A second generation is possible in good years. In any case, the old queen dies with her people in the fall.

Parasites

Forest cuckoo bumblebee, bombus (Psithyrus) sylvestris

Norwegian cuckoo bumblebee, bombus (Psithyrus norvegicus. The main host of this species of cuckoo bumblebee is the tree bumblebee, but meadow bumblebees are parasitized only occasionally.

Field cuckoo bumblebee, bombus (Psithyrus) campestris. The main host of the field parasite bumblebee is the Ackerhummel and the meadow bumblebee is named as a secondary host.

swell

literature

  • Helmut Hintermeier, Margrit Hintermeier: Bees, bumblebees, wasps in the garden and in the landscape. Honey bees, bumblebees, solitary bees, wasps, hornets, survival aids . 8th edition, Obst- und Gartenbauverlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-87596-123-2

Web links

Commons : Wiesenhummel  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files