bombus4you

Book and eBook

The Males of the European Bumblebees (Bombus)

600 SEM pictures of Genital Capsules (Scanning Electron Microscope)

Images are always two-dimensional projections. In order to recognize the real shape of an object one needs to look at several projections from varying angles. Not everyone who wants to deal with male bumblebees has access to a really excellent stereomicroscope. Hopefully, these SEM images (Scanning Electron Microscope) will help to overcome this deficiency: they are intended to convey the best possible picture of reality. Of course, they cannot replace reality, i.e. the exact study of genital capsules.

The Males of the European Bumblebees (Bombus)

Species Groups and Genital Capsules (with identification keys)

Unfortunately, in books the males of the bumblebees are usually treated rather incidentally, queens and workers are the focus of the descriptions. Also, the characteristics of the genital capsule, which are so important for a safe determination are not really described, mostly you will find only a picture of the back view and a reference to this picture. The user must painstakingly search for useful features himself.

This book summarizes the information available of the main features of the genital capsules of male bumblebees. Images in which the different parts of the genital capsule are colour-coded, and stereoscopic images help beginners to use the characteristics of the male genital capsules. The morphology of the genital capsules is presented for each group of species in such a way that it should be possible to learn and memorize the characteristics. For an identification of species-groups ‘identification-keys’ have been included, in a combination of text and figures beginners find help to assign an unknown genital capsule to a species group.

The Males of the European Bumblebees (Bombus)

Colouration and Distribution

There are about 70 species of bumblebee in Europe. Given this diversity, it is no easy task to identify the different species. The first and most striking feature when observing bumblebees in nature is always their colouration.

In most species, however, this colouration is variable. While in a few species the offspring are already very different in the maternal nest, in most species the offspring in a nest is more or less uniformly coloured, but can vary from nest to nest. In some widespread species, individuals from different geographical areas are so differently coloured that it is difficult to recognise them as one species.

To correctly identify species or recognise them in the field, one needs to have an idea of this diversity of colouration. This presentation can help to get a first overview of this variability of colouration in males.

in preparation

The Males of the European Bumblebees (Bombus) - Colouration and Distribution

eBook
available in many languages
free version available

The Subgenera of European Bumblebees (Bombus) and the Genital Capsule of Males

The conspicuously formed genital capsule of the males offers the beginner many useful characteristics and an easy possibility to separate the many species into about 16 species groups - subgenera. In the introduction The Subgenera of European Bumblebees (Bombus) and the Genital Capsule of Males, the color coding of the various sclerites makes it easier for beginners to distinguish between them and to recognize the shapes through 3D images. With 116 SEM images (Scanning Electron Microscope) of 29 selected species, the 16 subgenera occurring in Europe are presented (most of them in at least 2 species).