A systematic review of the nesting and overwintering habitat of bumble bees globally

Liczner, Amanda R.; Colla, Sheila R.

doi:10.1007/s10841-019-00173-7

Cited by 69 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Whether bumble bees overwinter near nests may be related to habitat quality of the landscape (Carvell et al ., 2017). There is little understood about nesting and overwintering habitat relative to what is known about bumble bee foraging due to the difficulty in locating these sites (Darvill et al ., 2004; Waters et al ., 2011; O'Connor et al ., 2017; Liczner & Colla, 2019). Although we selected nesting and overwintering variables based on the best available information, it is possible that we did not adequately measure these resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having enough good quality habitat can make species more resilient to other stressors (Hodgson et al ., 2009, 2011). Yet, the habitat requirements for bumble bees is not well understood especially for nesting and overwintering resources (Liczner & Colla, 2019). Despite this, many jurisdictions have implemented policies to conserve declining bee species (Byrne & Fitzpatrick, 2009), many of which focus solely on forage resource availability for bumble bees without considering nesting or overwintering resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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One‐size does not fit all: at‐risk bumble bee habitat management requires species‐specific local and landscape considerations

Liczner

Colla

2020

Insect Conserv Diversity

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1. Declining bumble bees are threatened by habitat loss, pathogens and climate change. Despite policy and management recommendations to create pollinator habitat, the habitat requirements for at-risk bumble bees remains unclear. Most studies on bumble bee habitat are descriptive, focus on floral resources, occur at one spatial scale, or do not examine at-risk species. 2. We provide the first thorough habitat description for two North American bumblebee species (Bombus terricola and Bombus pensylvanicus) at-risk of extinction. We asked the following questions: (i) What characterises B. terricola and B. pensylvanicus habitat? (ii) Are landscape variables, local variables, or flowering plant species more important determinants of habitat? (iii) do important variables change throughout the season? 3. Surveys were conducted at 25 sites with a recent occurrence of either B. terricola, B. pensylvanicus, or both species across southern Ontario, Canada. Landscape variables were extracted from a 1-km buffer around each site. Local variables related to bumble bee resource requirements (floral, nesting and overwintering) and flowering species cover were measured in spring, midsummer , and late-summer. 4. We found that the proportion of different land cover classes at 1 km was a more important predictor of B. terricola and B. pennsylvanicus presence than local transect based variables such as floral richness or the patchiness of floral cover. We did not find any evidence of important variables changing temporally, but floral resources were consistently important throughout the season. Our results highlight that management of atrisk pollinator species requires consideration of species-specific habitat requirements.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One‐size does not fit all: at‐risk bumble bee habitat management requires species‐specific local and landscape considerations

Liczner

Colla

2020

Insect Conserv Diversity

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“…Bumble bee nests are typically found in natural or semi-natural areas, e.g. hedgerows adjacent to croplands, as opposed to highly modified areas (Liczner and Colla 2019). Worker bumble bees are also abundant and are more likely to visit flowers in crop lands adjacent to natural habitats, suggesting bumble bees use these more natural areas to nest (Greenleaf andKremen 2006, Morandin et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in 2020, the US Fish and Wildlife Service decided that it was "not prudent" to designate critical habitat for the endangered rusty-patched bumble bee, in part because of lack of knowledge about its specific nesting and overwintering habitat needs (US Federal Register 2020). In part, this knowledge gap exists because many researchers consider locating Bombus nests to be prohibitively difficult (Liczner and Colla 2019). Most studies describing nest locations are anecdotal, describing the location of only a few nests (e.g., Gonzalez et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting effects of land cover on nesting habitat use and reproductive output for bumble bees

Pugesek

Crone

2020

Preprint

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Understanding habitat quality is central to understanding the distributions of species on the landscape, as well as to conserving and restoring at-risk species. Although it is well-known that many species require different resources throughout their life cycles, pollinator conservation efforts focus almost exclusively on forage resources. Here, we evaluate nesting habitat for bumble bees by locating nests directly on the landscape. We compared colony density and colony reproductive output for Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee, across three different land cover types (hay fields, meadows, and forests). We also recorded nest site characteristics, e.g., the position of each nest site, for all Bombus nests located during surveys to tease apart species-specific patterns of habitat use. We found that B. impatiens nests exclusively underground in two natural land cover types, forests and meadows, but not in hay fields. B. impatiens nested at similar densities in both in meadows and forests, but colonies in forests had much higher reproductive output. In contrast to B. impatiens, B. griseocollis frequently nested on the surface of the ground and was almost always found in meadows. B. bimaculatis nests were primarily below ground in meadows. B. perplexis nested below ground in all three habitat types, including hay fields. For some bumble bee species in this system, e.g., B. griseocollis and B. bimaculatis, meadows, the habitat type with abundant forage resources, may be sufficient to maintain them throughout their life cycles. However, B. impatiens might benefit from heterogeneous landscapes with forests and meadows. Further research would be needed to evaluate whether hay fields are high-quality nesting sites for the one species that used them, B. perplexis. Synthesis and applications. In the past, Bombus nesting studies have been perceived as prohibitively labor-intensive. This example shows that it is possible to directly measure nesting habitat use and quality for bumble bee species. Applying these methods to more areas, especially areas where at-risk Bombus spp. are abundant, is an important next step for identifying bumble bee habitat needs throughout their life cycles.

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“…). We know almost nothing about overwintering queens (Alford , Liczner and Colla ). Overwintering sites have been described for only a handful of species (Sladen , Plath , Alford ), and hibernating biology is poorly understood even in commercially raised species (but see Hobbs ).…”

Section: Total Search Effort By Seven People In Two Days Searching DImentioning

confidence: 99%

Fantastic bees and where to find them: locating the cryptic overwintering queens of a western bumble bee

et al. 2019

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Bumble bees are among the best-studied bee groups worldwide, yet surprisingly we know almost nothing about their overwintering habitats nor the microsite characteristics that govern selection of these sites. This gap represents a critical barrier for their conservation, especially if preferred overwintering habitats differ from foraging and nesting habitats. Current conservation plans focus on foraging habitat, potentially creating a problem of partial habitats where improved forage might fail to prevent population declines due to limited overwintering sites. We provide the first data on the overwintering habitat for any western North American bumble bee. Our data suggest that overwintering and foraging habitats are likely distinct, and queens' selection of overwintering sites may be shaped by environmental stressors of the year. In our study area, queens overwintered in litter beneath cypress trees, where no floral resources exist. Whether this separation of overwintering and foraging habitat holds for other bumble bee species remains to be discovered. Our data highlight the need to consider the whole life cycle for understanding population dynamics and conservation planning. This need is underscored by growing evidence for the decline of multiple North American bumble bee species.

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A systematic review of the nesting and overwintering habitat of bumble bees globally

Cited by 69 publications

References 76 publications

One‐size does not fit all: at‐risk bumble bee habitat management requires species‐specific local and landscape considerations

One‐size does not fit all: at‐risk bumble bee habitat management requires species‐specific local and landscape considerations

Contrasting effects of land cover on nesting habitat use and reproductive output for bumble bees

Fantastic bees and where to find them: locating the cryptic overwintering queens of a western bumble bee

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