Bombus pullatus
| Bombus pullatus | |
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| Subgenus: | Fervidobombus
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| Species: | B. pullatus
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| Bombus pullatus Franklin, 1913
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Bombus pullatus is a species of bumblebee native to Mexico and Central America.[1]
This species occurs in lowlands and in mountains. It builds its nests underground, on the surface, or in plants. It has been observed constructing nests in the leaves of a banana tree, in piles of vegetation on the ground, and amongst the roots of a coffee plant.[1] The colony can occupy one nest for a long time, maintaining and renovating it as necessary. One old nest was observed to contain both the bee colony and a colony of the leafcutter ant Acromyrmex octospinosus, which was occupying cells along the edge that had been abandoned by the bee.[2] This bee can be rare in parts of its range with wet tropical climates because it is difficult to find a suitable dry nesting site and maintain it in such moist conditions.[3]
This bee forages on many kinds of plants, including Miconia sp., Monochaetum sp., Solanum sp. Mimosa sp., and Spermacoce sp.[4]
References
- ^ a b Vandame, R. V., Martínez López, O. G. & Pineda Diez de Bonilla, E. P. 2015. Bombus pullatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 March 2016.
- ^ Chavarria, G. (1996). Notes on a combined nest of Bombus pullatus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 403-405.
- ^ Janzen, D. H. (1971). The ecological significance of an arboreal nest of Bombus pullatus in Costa Rica. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 44 210-216.
- ^ Hines, H. M., Cameron, S. A., & Deans, A. R. (2007). Nest architecture and foraging behavior in Bombus pullatus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with comparisons to other tropical bumble bees. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 80(1), 1-15.