Bumblebees: Behaviour, Ecology, And Conservation

Description

Bumblebees are familiar and charismatic insects, occurring throughout much of the world. They are increasingly being used as a model organism for studying a wide range of ecological and behavioural concepts, such as social organization, optimal foraging theories, host-parasite interactions, and pollination. Recently they have become a focus for conservationists due to mounting evidence of range coBIOL15ANIB and catastrophic extinctions with some species disappearing from entire continents (e.g. in North America). Only by improving our understanding of their ecology can we devise sensible plans to conserve them. The role of bumblebees as invasive species (e.g. Bombus terrestris in Japan) has also become topical with the growing trade in commercial bumblebee nests for tomato pollination leading to establishment of non-native bumblebees in a number of countries. Since the publication of the first edition of the book, there have been hundreds of research papers published on bumblebees.
There is clearly a continuing need for an affordable, well-illustrated, and appealing text that makes accessible all of the major advances in understanding of the behaviour and ecology of bumblebees that have been made in the last 30 years.

Reviews

This excellent survey by our leading bumblebee biologist covers all aspects of the life of these fascinating insects ... The expert will surely find much to admire, and the non-expert like myself much to learn that is lucidly explained. Chris Smout, BRISC This text provides an excellent review of bumble bee biology and behaviour. Bees for Development This book is a good choice for students just learning about the beguiling world of bumblebees. The Quarterly Review of Biology

Author description

Prof Dave Goulson has had a lifelong interest in insects, having started collecting butterflies as a small boy. After a degree in Biology at Oxford University and a PhD at Oxford Brookes University, he obtained a lectureship at the University of Southampton in 1995, where he stayed for 11 years. He is now Professor of Biological Sciences and Head of the School of Biological & Environmental Sciences at the University of Stirling. In 2006 he founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a membership-based charity devoted to the active promotion of bee conservation in the UK; the trust now has 3,000 members.

Table of contents

Preface ; 1. Introduction ; 2. Thermoregulation ; 3. Social Organisation and Conflict ; 4. Finding a Mate ; 5. Natural Enemies ; 6. Foraging Economics ; 7. Exploitation of Patchy Resources ; 8. Choice of Flower Species ; 9. Intraspecific Floral Choices ; 10. Foraging Cues Gained from Other Bees ; 11. Competition and Niche Differentiation in Bumblebee Communities ; 12. Bumblebees as Pollinators ; 13. Conservation ; 14. Bumblebees Abroad; Effects of Introduced Bees ; References ; Index