Pampell Rehanon, Sikes Derek, Pantoja Alberto, Holloway Patricia, Knight Charles, Ranft Richard
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Subarctic Agricultural Research Unit, AK, Fairbanks, United States of America.
University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, United States of America.
Biodivers Data J. 2015 May 8(3):e5085. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e5085. eCollection 2015.
Despite the ecological and agricultural significance of bumble bees in Alaska, very little is known and published about this important group at the regional level. The objectives of this study were to provide baseline data on species composition, distribution, seasonal biology, and parasites of the genus Bombus at three major agricultural locations within Alaska: Fairbanks, Delta Junction, and Palmer, to lay the groundwork for future research on bumble bee pollination in Alaska.
A total of 8,250 bumble bees representing 18 species was collected from agricultural settings near Delta Junction, Fairbanks, and Palmer, Alaska in 2009 and 2010. Of the 8,250 specimens, 51% were queens, 32.7% were workers, and 16.2% were males. The species composition and relative abundances varied among sites and years. Delta Junction had the highest relative abundance of bumble bees, representing 51.6% of the specimens collected; the other two locations, Fairbanks and Palmer represented 26.5% and 21.8% of the overall catch respectively. The species collected were: BombusbohemicusSeidl 1837 (= B.ashtoni (Cresson 1864)), B.balteatusDahlbom 1832, B.bifariusCresson 1878, B.centralisCresson 1864, B.cryptarum (Fabricius 1775) (=B.moderatusCresson 1863), B.distinguendusMorawitz 1869, B.flavidusEversmann 1852 (=B.fernaldaeFranklin 1911), B.flavifronsCresson 1863, B.frigidusSmith 1854, B.insularis (Smith 1861), B.jonellus (Kirby 1802), B.melanopygusNylander 1848, B.mixtusCresson 1878, B.neoboreusSladen 1919, B.occidentalisGreene 1858, B.perplexusCresson 1863, B.rufocinctusCresson 1863, and B.sylvicolaKirby 1837. Overall, the most common bumble bees near agricultural lands were B.centralis, B.frigidus, B.jonellus, B.melanopygus, B.mixtus, and B.occidentalis. Species' relative population densities and local diversity were highly variable from year to year. Bombusoccidentalis, believed to be in decline in the Pacific Northwest states, represented 10.4% of the overall specimens collected from the three sites studied. Bumble bees were found to be infected by Nosema and nematodes with infection rates up to 2.1% and 16.7% respectively. Of the eight species infected by parasites, B.occidentalis displayed the highest Nosema infection, while B.centralis was the species with the highest infection of nematodes. To our knowledge this represents the first multi-year study on bumble bees from the main agricultural areas of Alaska to provide baseline data on species composition, distribution, seasonal biology, and parasites of the genus Bombus.
尽管熊蜂在阿拉斯加具有生态和农业重要性，但在区域层面上，关于这一重要类群的了解和已发表的信息却非常少。本研究的目的是提供阿拉斯加三个主要农业地区（费尔班克斯、三角洲章克申和帕尔默）熊蜂属的物种组成、分布、季节生物学和寄生虫的基线数据，为阿拉斯加未来熊蜂授粉研究奠定基础。
2009年和2010年，从阿拉斯加三角洲章克申、费尔班克斯和帕尔默附近的农业区域共采集了8250只熊蜂，代表18个物种。在这8250个标本中，51%为蜂后，32.7%为工蜂，16.2%为雄蜂。物种组成和相对丰度在不同地点和年份有所不同。三角洲章克申的熊蜂相对丰度最高，占所采集标本的51.6%；其他两个地点，费尔班克斯和帕尔默分别占总捕获量的26.5%和21.8%。所采集的物种有：1837年的波希米亚熊蜂（Seidl）（= 1864年的阿什托尼熊蜂（Cresson））、1832年的条带熊蜂（Dahlbom）、1878年的双色熊蜂（Cresson）、1864年的中央熊蜂（Cresson）、1775年的隐熊蜂（Fabricius）（= 1863年的中度熊蜂（Cresson））、1869年的分辨熊蜂（Morawitz）、1852年的淡黄熊蜂（Eversmann）（= 1911年的费氏熊蜂（Franklin））、1863年的黄额熊蜂（Cresson）、1854年的寒熊蜂（Smith）、1861年的岛屿熊蜂（Smith）、1802年的约氏熊蜂（Kirby）、1848年的黑臀熊蜂（Nylander）、1878年的混色熊蜂（Cresson）、1919年的新北熊蜂（Sladen）、1858年的西方熊蜂（Greene）、1863年的困惑熊蜂（Cresson）、1863年的红带熊蜂（Cresson）和1837年的林栖熊蜂（Kirby）。总体而言，农田附近最常见的熊蜂是中央熊蜂、寒熊蜂、约氏熊蜂、黑臀熊蜂、混色熊蜂和西方熊蜂。物种的相对种群密度和局部多样性每年变化很大。据信在太平洋西北地区数量正在减少的西方熊蜂，占从所研究的三个地点采集的总标本的10.4%。发现熊蜂感染了微孢子虫和线虫，感染率分别高达2.1%和16.7%。在受寄生虫感染的八个物种中，西方熊蜂的微孢子虫感染率最高，而中央熊蜂是线虫感染率最高的物种。据我们所知，这是对阿拉斯加主要农业地区熊蜂进行的首次多年研究，提供了熊蜂属的物种组成、分布、季节生物学和寄生虫的基线数据。
