Bumblebees From Northern Ellesmere Island, With Observations on Usurpation by Megabombus hyperboreus (Schönh.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

• Published in: The Canadian Entomologist
• Main Authors: Milliron, H. E., Oliver, D. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1966
• Subjects: Insect Science; Molecular Biology; Physiology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Structural Biology; Ellesmere Island
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/ent98207-2; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0008347X00056170

Abstract Two species of Apidae occur on Ellesmere Island: Megabombus ( Megabombus ) polaris (Curtis) and M . ( M .) hyperboreus (Schönherr). Some observations on their activity are presented. Three nests built on the surface of the ground are described. The colonies were of small size. Nest No. 1 contained only polaris Nests Nos. 2 and 3 contained polaris workers and hyperboreus sexuals, as adults or brood. Usurpation is suggested to explain the workerless condition of hyperboreus in Nests Nos. 2 and 3.