Rising temperatures advance the main flight period of Bombus bumblebees in agricultural landscapes of the Central European Plain

Tadeusz Pawlikowski,Lucjan Rutkowski,Rafał Jakubowski,Krzysztof Pawlikowski,Piotr Olszewski,Tim H. Sparks

doi:10.1007/s13592-020-00750-9

Abstract

This study examined shifts over a 35-year period in the phenology of the four most important bumblebee species (Bombus terrestris, B. lapidarius, B. pascuorum and B. hortorum) in Central Europe. The species showed similar temporal trends, significantly advancing components of their main flight period in association with rising temperatures such that, for example, mid-dates of the main flight period advanced by 10–23 days over the study period. Drivers of this change differed between the four species. Trends in, and drivers of, the timing of first queens, first workers and first males were less consistent. Aspects of the phenology of the least common species, B. hortorum, were up to a month earlier than the other species and climatic effects less clear cut. There were some suggestions of differences between species trends. These results stress the importance of considering changes and drivers of change for the Bombus family on a species-specific basis with the need to pay more attention to the life history traits of the study organisms.

Highlights

Recent climate changes have influenced many living organisms, including the phenology, population size and migration and distribution patterns of insects
There were no significant trends in the timing of the first queen, first worker and first male bumblebees except for a significant advance in the timing of first B. hortorum queen and a significant delay in the timing of first B. hortorum worker (Table I)
The interval between first queen and first worker became significantly shorter for B. lapidarius but significantly longer for B. hortorum

Summary

Introduction

Bumblebees, effective pollinators which occupy both rural and urban habitats. When foraging, they visit flowers of various plant species, especially of Labiatae, Leguminosae and Asteraceae (Pawlikowski et al 2008; Goulson 2010). In our study area in central Poland, the four study species Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus), B. lapidarius (Linnaeus), B. pascuorum (Scopoli) and B. hortorum (Linnaeus) are common and of special interest, B. hortorum is less numerous than the other three. During the study period (1981–2015), these four species accounted for 85–90% of all Bombus specimens recorded. B. terrestris is native to the Palaearctic region: Europe, North Africa and temperate regions of Asia. B. lapidarius is native to the Palaearctic region and has been introduced elsewhere, cf B. terrestris. B. pascuorum is native to the West Palaearctic, and B. hortorum is native to the Palaearctic (Williams 2000; Velthuis 2002; Rasmont et al 2008; Martinet et al 2015)

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Conclusion