Abstract
Little information is known about the nesting behaviour of arctic and boreal bumblebee species. The arctic is an environment with hard eco-climatic constraints notably for bumblebees. Here, we describe the nest of a common circum boreal species, Bombus lapponicus. A natural nest was discovered from an abandoned rodent nest (Microtus oeconomus) at 560 m. at Björkliden (Sweden) on June 14, 2021. The nest was 10 cm under the ground and at the end of a 1-meter-long sinuous tunnel. When discovered, the nest was wrapped in rodent straw and consisted of a nectar pot and 11 cells. The architecture of the brood had a horseshoe shape, consistent with other bumblebee nests already described. Before nest excavation, we observed the queen's comings and goings during a whole day to determine the time spent inside the nest to take care of the brood and the time spent outside to collect nutritive resources. The development of the brood was continued in the laboratory until the emergence of sexuates.
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30 June 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-022-00870-8
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Keith Larson and the Abisko scientific station (Sweden) and all associated people for their hospitality and their help. The authors thank the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) crew associated to the project “Frozen planet II”. The observation we describe above would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the entire BBC NHU’s Frozen Planet II team, who provided expertise and logistical support to the shoot. BM is a post-doctoral researcher for FRS-FNRS (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique). KP contributed as PhD students granted by the FRS-FNRS.
Funding
The research was funded by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) crew associated to the project “Frozen planet II”. BM is a post-doctoral researcher for FRS-FNRS (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique). KP contributed as PhD students granted by the FRS-FNRS.
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Conceived and designed the experiments: BM KP PR. Conducted experiments including bumblebee breeding: BM KP analysed the data: BM KP DE JvA PR. Wrote the paper: BM KP JA YB DE PG JvA GW PR. The nest entrance of B. lapponicus was initially spotted by Joris van Alphen, one of the BBC cameraman, during a shoot for BBC Studio’s Frozen Planet II and the nest was excavated by Baptiste Martinet and Kimberly Przybyla.
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The original article has been updated: Due to co-author name update.
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Martinet, B., Przybyla, K., Atkins, J. et al. Description of nest architecture and ecological notes on the bumblebee Bombus (Pyrobombus) lapponicus (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombini). Insect. Soc. 69, 131–135 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-022-00849-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-022-00849-5