Bumblebees (Naturalists Handbooks)

Bumblebees are likeable creatures, and are among the most attractive of British insects and the most amenable to study. Friendlier than honeybees, they do not sting unless severely molested. Furrier, more rotund and colourful, and often larger than honeybees, and conspicuous by their deep buzz and their habit of working in gardens, they are a familiar sight in summer in town and country.In spring a bumblebee colony is founded by a queen, who has overwintered. Initially she lays eggs that give rise to workers. These look after the nest, defend it and collect food for it. Usually many workers are produced before eggs are laid which develop into males and young queens, who leave the nest and mate (see section 3.2).The appeal of bumblebees as subjects for study is partly due to their predictable behaviour. Most animals are forever compromising between multiple objectives such as feeding, seeking a mate, laying eggs, and defending a territory. In contrast many of the bumblebees we see are foraging workers, whose only task is the collection of nectar and pollen to supply themselves and their colony. Because we can follow just what these foragers are doing we can begin to ask how well they are doing it, and this quantitative approach is facilitated by the ease with which the energy and water content of a flower's nectar can be measured (see sections 6.1 and 6.2).Bumblebees are interesting too for their sodal behaviour. Their colonies, rather small and lasting less than a year in temperate regions, are simpler to work with than those of honeybees and can be managed quite easily in nest-boxes.Perhaps the most important practical element of interest is the role of bumblebees as pollinators, often underestimated and still poorly understood. Much more needs to be known about them as pollinators of crops and about their nesting requirements and biologyparticularly now, when the countryside is changing, the number of bumblebee spedes is declining locally, and some valuable bee-pollinated crops are suffering unpredictable variations in yield.

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Author: Prys-Jones & Corbet
Publisher: Richmond Publishing
Extra Details: Pictorial Card Covers 6 x 9 inches tall.92 Pages.Illustrated with Colour plates and B&W line drawings throughout.NEW BOOK.