UDC

595.799

Authors

G.S. Potapov*, Yu.S. Kolosova*
* Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences (Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation)
Corresponding author: Grigory Potapov, address: Naberezhnaya Severnoy Dviny, 23, Arkhangelsk, 163000, Russian Federation; e-mail: grigorij-potapov@yandex.ru

Abstract

Based on the results of the fieldwork carried out in the lower reaches of the Mezen River (neighborhood of Mezen) in July 2015 and collection material the local fauna and bumblebee communities in the study area are investigated. 16 species are recorded in the lower reaches of the Mezen River: Bombus soroeensis, B. distinguendus, B. hortorum, B. muscorum, B. veteranus, B. pascuorum, B. bohemicus, B. flavidus, B. lapponicus, B. hypnorum, B. pratorum, B. jonellus, B. cingulatus, B. sporadicus, B. cf. cryptarum, B. sichelii. Most species of the local fauna are trans-Palaearctic; Holarctic and Euro- Siberian species are less represented. According to the east-west aspect the great part of the species is temperate, the rest – are arcto-temperate, boreal and arcto-boreal. The species of the southern fauna complex are presented: the meadow species B. soroeensis, B. distinguendus, B. veteranus, B. sichelii, which are not typical for the native taiga ecosystems. Their presence in the study area is due to the fact that the valleys of major rivers are the migration routes to the North for the southern species. Besides, this is a habitat with a high diversity of entomophilous plants. This fact allows species of the southern faunal assemblage to introduce into biological communities. In the lower reaches of the Mezen River we marked only B. lapponicus of the tundra species. In the studied communities B. cf. cryptarum dominates, an abundance of the other species is low. The eurytopic, meadow, forest and the only tundra species are represented. Bumblebees forage mainly on Rhinanthus minor, less on Trifolium pratense and Trifolium repens.

Keywords

bumblebee, local fauna, Bombus Latr., lower reaches of the Mezen river

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