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REPLACEMENT OF BOMBUS MUSCORUM BY BOMBUS PASCUORUM IN NORTHERN BRITAIN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

C.M.S. Plowright ,
R.C. Plowright  and
Paul H. Williams
C.M.S. Plowright
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada KIN 6N5
R.C. Plowright
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1Al
Paul H. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, England SW7 5BD
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Abstract

Records of bumble bees from four collecting trips (1977, 1978, 1988, and 1994) in northern Britain show apparent changes in the incidences of two species. Until 1988, Bombus muscorum (Linnaeus) and Bombus pascuorum (Scopoli) were found in the counties of Cumbria, Durham, and North Yorkshire. Only B. muscorum was found in the Orkney Islands in 1978. In 1994, however, B. pascuorum was found abundantly in all of these areas, and in the Orkney Islands we could find only a single B. muscorum. From these data, B. pascuorum appears to have been replacing B. muscorum in some parts of northern Britain.

Résumé

Des specimens de bourdons recueillis lors de quatre voyages (1977, 1978, 1988 et 1994) dans le nord de la Grande Bretagne démontrent, semblerait-il, des changements dans l’occurrence de deux espèces. Jusqu’à 1988 Bombus muscorum (Linnaeus) et Bombus pascuorum (Scopoli) étaient retrouvées dans les comtés de Cumbria, Durham et North Yorkshire. En 1978, seul B. muscorum était retrouvé sur les isles Orkades. En 1994, B. pascuorum fut retrouvé abondamment dans toutes ces régions, et sur les isles Orkades nous n’avons trouvé qu’un seul individu de B. muscorum. Ces données suggèrent que B. muscorum est en voie d’être remplacé par B. pascuorum dans quelques regions du nord de la Grande Bretagne.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 129 , Issue 6 , December 1997 , pp. 985 - 990
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1997

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