Bombus (Pyrobombus) picipes Richards

An, Jiandong, Huang, Jiaxing, Shao, Youquan, Zhang, Shiwen, Wang, Biao, Liu, Xinyu, Wu, Jie & Williams, Paul H., 2014, The bumblebees of North China (Apidae, Bombus Latreille), Zootaxa 3830 (1), pp. 1-89 : 56-57

53. Bombus (Pyrobombus) picipes Richards

( Figs 108, 109 )

Bombus pratorum ssp. flavus Friese, 1905:517 (not of Pérez, 1884:265 = B. campestris (Panzer)) . Bombus (Pratobombus) parthenius var. picipes Richards, 1934:90 .

Bombus (Pratobombus) klapperichi Pittioni, 1949:266 .

Material examined. 28 queens, 556 workers, 104 males (IAB).

Distribution in North China. Primarily in the Qinling mountains, the loess plateau and the Yanshan mountains. Abundant at medium elevations of the Maijishan forest park and the Xiaolongshan nature reserve in Gansu, and medium elevations of the Liupanshan mountains in southern Ningxia. Common at low to medium elevations of the Yanshan mountains in Beijing and northern Hebai, at medium elevations of the loess plateau in eastern Gansu and central Shaanxi, at medium elevations of the Baishuijiang river valley mountains in southernmost Gansu, at medium elevations of the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in western Gansu, at medium elevations of the south Taihangshan mountains in Shanxi, and at medium elevations of the Qinling mountains in southern Shaanxi. Rare at medium elevation of the Micangshan mountains and the Dabashan mountains in southernmost Shaanxi. 103 localities ( Fig. 108 ) between 414–2788 m (IAB).

Similar species in North China. This species is similar in its yellow-grey colour pattern to some B. remotus , B. infrequens and B. wangae (see the key; Figs 63 , 109 , 111 , 117 ).

Distribution in China. Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Fujian, Henan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia (IAB).

Forage plants. ALLIACEAE : Allium fistulosum ; ASTERACEAE : Arctium lappa , Calendula officinalis , Callistephus chinensis , Cirsium leo , C. monocephalum , C. shansiense , Cosmos bipinnatus , Dahlia pinnata , Helianthus annuus , Ixeridium sonchifolium , Saussurea pulchella , Saussurea sp., Tagetes patula ; BUDDLEJACEAE : Buddleja officinalis ; CLUSIACEAE : Hypericum ascyron ; DIPSACACEAE : Dipsacus japonicus ; FABACEAE : Astragalus dahuricus , Astragalus sp., Lespedeza bicolor , Medicago sativa , Melilotus officinalis , Onobrychis viciifolia , Oxytropis ochrocephala , Vicia cracca ; LAMIACEAE : Dracocephalum heterophyllum , Elsholtzia ciliata , E. stauntonii , Leonurus japonicus , L. sibiricus , Nepeta prattii , Phlomis umbrosa ; MALVACEAE : Alcea rosea , Hibiscus syriacus ; ONAGRACEAE : Oenothera biennis ; RANUNCULACEAE : Aconitum kusnezoffii , Anemone tomentosa , Clematis tangutica ; ROSACEAE : Duchesnea indica , Cerasus campanulata , Amygdalus davidiana , A. persica , Cerasus tomentosa , Rosa chinensis , Rubus crataegifolius ; SALICACEAE : Salix caprea ; TILIACEAE : Grewia biloba .

Figures

FIGURES 108 – 109. 108. Map showing the distribution of B. picipes in North China with records as black spots, the province boundaries in dark grey, and all sites with records of all bumblebee species in light grey. 109. B. picipes queen visiting Cirsium monocephalum (Asteraceae) in Gansu.

FIGURES 62 – 63. 62. Map showing the distribution of B. remotus in North China with records as black spots, the province boundaries in dark grey, and all sites with records of all bumblebee species in light grey. 63. B. remotus worker visiting Cirsium leo (Asteraceae) in Gansu.

FIGURES 110 – 111. 110. Map showing the distribution of B. infrequens in North China with records as black spots, the province boundaries in dark grey, and all sites with records of all bumblebee species in light grey. 111. B. infrequens worker visiting Buddleja sp. (Buddlejaceae) in Gansu.

FIGURES 116 – 117. 116. Map showing the distribution of B. wangae in North China with records as black spots, the province boundaries in dark grey, and all sites with records of all bumblebee species in light grey. 117. B. wangae worker visiting Chamerion angustifolium (Onagraceae) in Gansu.