Bombus muscorum

Bombus muscorum
Bombus muscorum agricolae – the Shetland subspecies
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Apidae
Genus:	Bombus
Subgenus:	Thoracobombus
Species:	B. muscorum
Binomial name
Bombus muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758)[1]

Bombus muscorum, commonly known as large carder bee or moss carder bee, is a species of bumblebee found in Eurasia.^[2]

Description

Bombus muscorum has an oblong face and a relatively long tongue. The fur on the face, thorax, and abdomen is almost entirely ginger. The second terga (abdominal segment) can, however, have a darker, brownish colouring. In Britain, island forms can have the ginger fur on the body and face intermixed with black hair, as well as an entirely black ventral side. The queen has an average length of 19 mm (0.75 in) and a wingspan of 35 mm (1.4 in),^[3] while the length of the worker and male is around 14 mm (0.55 in).^[4]

Ecology

Bombus muscorum inhabits moors, grasslands,^[5] and salt marshes, where it builds its nest on or just below ground.^[4] The bumblebee collects dry grass and moss to cover the nest.^[5] The nest is small, containing fewer than 100 workers.^[3]

Its food sources include clover, bird's-foot trefoil, vetches, and thistles.^[3] It usually forages close to its nest, normally less than 500 m.^[6]

Distribution

The species has a wide distribution in a large part of Eurasia, from Ireland in the west to Mongolia in the east, and from middle Scandinavia and Vyborg (Russian Karelia) in the north to Crete in the south. However, it is fairly rare in all its continental locations.^[7] In Britain, its distribution is patchy and, except for Scotland, predominantly coastal. Populations are also found on the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland.^[3]

References