Bombus muscorum
| Bombus muscorum | |
|---|---|
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| Bombus muscorum agricolae – the Shetland subspecies | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Bombus |
| Subgenus: | Thoracobombus |
| Species: | B. muscorum |
| Binomial name | |
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Bombus muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Apis muscorum Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Apis muscorum Linnaeus, 1758
Bombus muscorum, commonly known as the large carder bee or moss carder bee, is a species of bumblebee in the family Apidae. The species is found throughout Eurasia in fragmented populations, but is most commonly found in the British Isles.B. muscorum is a eusocial insect. The queen is monandrous, mating with only one male after leaving a mature nest to found its own. Males mate territorially and the species is susceptible to inbreeding and bottlenecks. The species builds its nests on or just under the ground in open grassland and forages very close to the nest. In recent years, populations have significantly declined due to loss of natural habitat. B. muscorum is currently listed as vulnerable in Europe by the European Red List of Bees.
B. muscourm was one of the many insect species originally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It was given the binomial name Apis muscorum. The species name muscorum is the genitive plural of the Latin mūscus, meaning moss.
B. muscorum is part of the order Hymenoptera, the third largest order of insects, which includes bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies. It is part of the subfamily Apinae, which contains the majority of species within the family Apidae. It is part of the tribe Bombini, which contains a single living genus Bombus, consisting entirely of bumblebees. Within Bombus, B. muscorum is part of the subgenus Thoracobombus, which includes closely relates species such Bombus atratus, Bombus dahlbomii, Bombus fervidus, Bombus morio, Bombus pensylvanicus, and Bombus transversalis.The species is further differentiated into at least seven different subspecies. These include B. muscorum sladeni and B. muscorum smithianu, found in the United Kingdom and differentiated on the basis of coat color. Certain forms of this variable taxon are considered separate species by some authors, including B. bannitus and B. pereziellus.
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