Bombus muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758)

Ornosa, Concepción, Torres, Félix & Rúa, Pilar De La, 2017, Updated list of bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from the Spanish Pyrenees with notes on their decline and conservation status, Zootaxa 4237 (1), pp. 41-77 : 62

Bombus muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758)

This bumblebee species has a Eurosiberian distribution. Due to a significant reduction of its distribution range, it is considered as Vulnerable in the IUCN European Red List (Rasmont et al. 2015).

In the Iberian Peninsula it can be found in the northern half and at isolated areas in more southern points. Elevational distribution ranges between 410 and 1800 m ( Castro 1994, Ornosa & Ortiz-Sánchez 2004).

At present it has been sampled in the Pyrenees foraging in forest pastures and open areas with scrub between 1280 and 1660 m ( Fig. 7 ), on Centaurea scabiosa L., Digitalis purpurea L., Echium vulgare L. , Eryngium bourgatii Gouan , Lotus corniculatus L., Prunella vulgaris L., Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq. Trifolium pratense L. , and Trifolium repens L.

It is clearly a declining species in the Pyrenees ( Table 2 ), as well as the entire Iberian Peninsula, where it needs special attention and assessment and very likely, protection. According to the current data, this species exhibits greater orophilous tendency ( Fig. 7 ).

New records. Spain: Huesca : Chía , Mirador, Valle de Benasque, 14-VII-2011, 7 workers, C. Ornosa leg., UCME ; Ordesa , Gradas de Soaso, 10-VII-2013, 1 queen; C. Ornosa leg., UCME ; San Nicolás de Bujaruelo , 9- VIII-2014, 1 worker, P. De la Rúa leg., UMU; Zuriza, 10-VII-2009, 2 workers, C. Ornosa leg., UCME .

Figures

FIGURE 7. Distribution (in meters) range of the bumblebee species and subspecies observed in contemporary samplings (grey rectangles) in the Pyrenees compared with the known altitude distribution (black bars) from historical data.