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''Bombus hyperboreus'' is a species of
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...
with a
circumpolar distribution A circumpolar distribution is any range of a taxon that occurs over a wide range of longitudes but only at high latitudes; such a range therefore extends all the way around either the North Pole or the South Pole. Taxa that are also found in isola ...
. The species is primarily found in the arctic areas of
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
, northern
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swed ...
, and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
. In 2015 the nearctic species, '' Bombus natvigi'', was separated from this species, based on genetic analysis. Accordingly, ''Bombus hyperboreus'' is limited to the Palaearctic, despite older literature listing this species as occurring in the Nearctic.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 'Bombus natvigi'' i/ref> It is a
brood parasite Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its ow ...
, and attacks and enslaves other bumblebee colonies in order to reproduce as they do not even have the ability to produce workers themselves. Most of its targets are colonies of species of the same subgenus, '' Alpinobombus''.


Taxonomy and phylogeny

''Bombus hyperboreus'' was originally named ''B. arcticus'' in 1802. Zoologist Carl Schönherr independently named the species as ''B. hyperboreus'' in 1809. It was not until 1950 that ''B. hyperboreus'' was used commonly to identify the species, when it was recognized that the name ''arcticus'' had been widely misapplied for a different species named in 1824. Petitions were needed to change the name to ''B. hyperboreus'' officially, to eliminate confusion with this other species, presently classified as ''
Bombus polaris ''Bombus polaris'' is a common Arctic bumblebee species. ''B. polaris'' is one of two bumblebees that live above the Arctic Circle. The other is its social parasite '' Bombus hyperboreus''. ''B. polaris'' is a social bee that can survive at near ...
''. ''Bombus hyperboreus'' is part of the genus ''
Bombus A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...
'', which is composed of all of the bumblebee species. It also falls under the subgenus ''Alpinobombus'' and is most closely related to '' Bombus neoboreus''. '' Bombus natvigi'' has been recently separated from ''Bombus hyperboreus'' based on genetic analysis. ''Bombus hyperboreus'' is palaearctic, while ''Bombus natvigi'' is nearctic.


Description

Due to its parasitic lifestyle,
workers The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic regio ...
are rarely present.
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
and drones are similar, with the
thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...
and anterior part of the
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
brownish-orange. The thorax has a black transversal band, while the last abdominal segments are black. Because the environment the species inhabits is cold and windy, it is suggested that their black bands act as a method to increase their body temperature through solar radiation, and their long, dense hair coat minimizes insulation loss. The mean length of the queen is relatively large at and is presumed to allow the species to counter the strong effects of the windy and cold environment.


Distribution and habitat

Members of the subgenus ''Alpinobombus'', including ''B. hyperboreus'', live in grasslands and shrub land in high Arctic and alpine areas, otherwise known as the
Arctic tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
. They are distributed in the Arctic, Palearctic, and western Nearctic regions. The distribution of the species in terms of altitude varies depending on the season. During the summer, ''B. hyperboreus'' makes use of the entire altitudinal range (). However, they tend to inhabit and forage at basal altitudes in the spring and higher altitudes towards the end of the summer and beginning of autumn.


Diet

''Bombus hyperboreus'' have a varied diet and mostly forage on medium to deep flowers. Some species that have been observed pollinating are of the genus ''
Pedicularis ''Pedicularis'' is a genus of perennial green root parasite plants currently placed in the family Orobanchaceae (the genus previously having been placed in Scrophulariaceae ''sensu lato''). Description Between 350 and 600 species are accep ...
'', specifically ''Pedicularis hirsuta'' and ''Pedicularis lapponica''. But they are not limited to just those species. Near Lake Latnjajaure of northern Sweden, ''Bombus hyperboreus'' have been observed collecting pollen and nectar of ''
Saxifraga oppositifolia ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'', the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of plant that is very common in the high Arctic and also some high mountainous areas further south, including northern Britain, the Alps and the Rocky ...
'' and then switching to forage on ''
Astragalus alpinus ''Astragalus alpinus'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine milkvetch. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Distribution It is ...
'' and ''
Bartsia alpina ''Bartsia alpina'' is a species of perennial flowering plant, known by the common name alpine bartsia or velvetbells. It is found in the mountainous regions of Europe and also occurs in Iceland, Greenland and north‐eastern Canada. Description ...
'' once those come into flower. The flowers they forage on also vary depending on the season and altitude of their habitation. In Mt. Njulla of northern Sweden, for example, in the beginning of the summer, ''
Rhododendron lapponicum ''Rhododendron lapponicum'' (高山杜鹃), the Lapland rosebay, is a dwarf rhododendron species found in subarctic regions of North America, Europe and Asia, where it grows at altitudes ranging from sea level to . It is an evergreen prostrate shr ...
'' and ''
Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
'' species dominate their diet, but as the season goes on, their diet changes to consumption of ''
Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...
'' species mid-summer and, finally, to consumption of ''Astragalus alpinus'' and ''
Solidago virgaurea ''Solidago virgaurea'', the European goldenrod or woundwort, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across most of Europe as well as North Africa and northern, central, and southwestern Asia (China, Russia, ...
'' towards the beginning of August.


Colony cycle

In the early spring, mated queens emerge from the frozen ground in the tundra and seek out a growing colony of a different bee species. ''Bombus hyperboreus'' obtains a colony by killing the queen of host species and enslaving her workers. The queen produces solely queens and drones. Because queens do not produce workers of their own, they rely on the captured workers to care for them. The number of queens and drones the species produces is far greater than any of the other alpine and non-alpine species of the Arctic region and are most commonly seen from early spring to the end of August, in tandem with the species that it usurps.


Nesting

Nests are mainly found covered by foliage, such as moist, mossy shrub, lichens, twigs, withered leaves of ''
Salix glauca ''Salix glauca'' is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names gray willow, grayleaf willow, white willow, and glaucous willow. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout much of Alaska, northern ...
'' and dry leaves of '' Pyrola grandiflora''. The entrance to the nest is also usually well camouflaged. Sometimes, waxy coverings are used to support additional foliage above the nest. Inside the nest, many cocoons carry male and queen larvae, with most of the vacated ones containing honey, and a few containing pollen. The nests have a tremendous amount of honey (), considering that a majority of the hive is composed of sexual beings, queens and drones, and few workers. The temperatures of the nests are closely regulated and maintained at a range of . Bees of the genus ''Bombus'' organize their cocoons in a certain manner. New cocoons are placed slightly to the side of other cocoons so that the emerging adults do not disturb the rest of the cells. After the emergence of the adults, the cocoons are used to store honey or pollen.


Behavior


Parasitic behavior

''Bombus hyperboreus,'' a cuckoo bumblebee, is known to be a social parasite among the bumblebee family, mostly attacking and enslaving colonies of species of the same subgenus. Though it mostly usurps ''
Bombus polaris ''Bombus polaris'' is a common Arctic bumblebee species. ''B. polaris'' is one of two bumblebees that live above the Arctic Circle. The other is its social parasite '' Bombus hyperboreus''. ''B. polaris'' is a social bee that can survive at near ...
'', there have been evidence of ''B. hyperboreus'' usurping '' Bombus balteatus'' and ''
Bombus jonellus The heath humble-bee or small heath bumblebee, ''Bombus jonellus'', is a species of bumblebee, widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia, as well as northern North America. Description A fairly small bumblebee, it has body lengths around ...
'' as well. ''B. hyperboreus'' tends to usurp species in its subgenus. Most parasitic bumblebees depend on social bumblebees because they do not have pollen baskets and cannot produce their own wax. However, ''B. hyperboreus'' is different: although it is parasitic, it has pollen baskets and collects pollen. To begin usurpation, an impregnated queen emerges in the spring some time after a ''B. polaris'' queen, and searches to invade her nest. After invading her colony, the ''B. polaris'' queen is killed and her workers are enslaved. The ''B. hyperboreus'' queen lays her first batch of eggs, which emerge as queens and drones, and are fed and reared by the enslaved workers. ''B. hyperboreus'' evolved traits of social parasitism because it inhabits harsh cold environments and must produce small colonies during short periods when conditions are favorable. These very short periods of time, favorable for founding and reproduction, push ''B. hyperboreus'' to invade and enslave other colonies, thereby reducing the time it would take to start a colony on their own.


Queen behavior

Depending on its habitat, ''B. hyperboreus'' queens will exhibit different behavior and will produce different types of offspring. Alpine and Arctic habitats have short growing seasons (2 to 3 months), which pushes the species to produce more sexual individuals (queens and males) instead of workers. Additionally, queens found in Scandinavia have been found to actively collect nectar and pollen while those in found in Arctic Canada have not been found to do so. The queens also invade and usurp other colonies once they emerge, and rely on the workers to help rear new queens and drones


Mating behavior

To mate, males, otherwise known as drones, patrol circuits of scent marks to find queens. ''B. hyperboreus'' have been found to have certain compounds that mark their
pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavi ...
s. These include octadecenol, 2,3-dihydro-6-transfarnesol, citronellol, and geranylcitronellol.


Risk of predation

There is not much information on the predators that threaten ''B. hyperboreus''. The few predators they have include: *
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es *
Wheatear The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus ''Oenanthe''. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but ...
s *
Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
s


Competition

''B. hyperboreus'' compete with many other species of the same subgenus for resources and habitats. The alpine species, species that mostly occupy high altitudes, that it competes with include ''B. alpinus'', and ''B. polaris''. The non-alpine species it competes with include ''
Bombus pratorum The early bumblebee or early-nesting bumblebee (''Bombus pratorum'') is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in most of Europe and parts of Asia. It is very commonly found in the UK and emerges to begin its colony cycle as soon as Februar ...
'', ''B. jonellus'', '' B. pascuorum'', '' B. lucorum'', '' B. lapponicus'' and ''B. balteatus.'' Yet, it mostly encounters alpine species because they usually share the same altitude at different times of the season and thus compete for the same resources at the same time.


Importance to humans

Bumblebees play a vital role in propagation of certain flower species as well as production of crops for human consumption. However, due to pesticide use, urban development, and climate change, bumblebee species are being threatened. With rising temperatures and longer periods of drought, ''Bombus hyperboreus'' are experiencing loss of habitat and are declining in numbers, placing them as "Vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
) Red List.


References


External links


Natural History Museum, Bombus
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1932953 Bumblebees Hymenoptera of Europe Hymenoptera of North America Insects of the Arctic Insects described in 1809