Bombus wurflenii

Mountain forest bumblebee (Bombus wurflenii ) at Genuine verbena

The mountain forest bumblebee (Bombus wurflenii ) is an insect in the group of bees.

Description

The Queen has black tousled hair and an orange abdomen. The workers look identical or have an implied yellow collar. They are significantly smaller than the queen. The males have a yellow collar and a yellow snout, otherwise they resemble the workers. These bumblebees have a particularly short trunk and strong jaws.

Occurrence

The mountain forest Hummel is a type that occurs in high and medium mountains. Their range extends from the Pyrenees to the Urals and Fennoscandia. In the Alps it is found at altitudes of 2600 meters. In Baden- Württemberg there are deposits in the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb, occasionally also in the Alpine foothills and very sporadically in the lowlands. In Germany is probably the boundary between the uplands and the northern German lowlands, the northern distribution limit.

Mountain forests and mountain meadows near forests are the settlement focus. In addition, they can also be found on derelict sheep pastures ( junipers ), and mountain heath. In the high mountains it rises up above the tree line.

Way of life

The nests are usually underground applied at different depths, for example, dwarf shrubs or in abandoned mice nests. Bombus wurflenii is a nest recipients and Pollenstorer. The nations are rich in individuals. The species is easily irritated.

The mountain forest Hummel is polylektisch, ie it goes to the flowers of many different plant species. It forms only one generation per year ( univoltine ). The females overwinter. They appear in spring from mid-April. Young males and females appear in July.

System

The subspecies Bombus wurflenii subsp. mastrucatus ( Gerstäcker ) is boreo - montane and has a disjoint distribution area, which includes the Alps, the Central European low mountain range, the Tatra Mountains, the Carpathians and the Balkans.

Endangering

In Baden- Württemberg the mountain forest Hummel is understood and endangered due to afforestation with spruce trees, natural reforestation and the intensification of agriculture in decline.

Swell