Large Earth Bumblebee
The bombus terrestris is a large bumblebee.
Interesting facts (Wikipedia):
Since 1987, B. terrestris has been bred commercially for use as a pollinator in European greenhouse crops, particularly tomatoes—a task which was previously carried out by human hand. B. terrestris has been commercially reared in New Zealand since the early 1990s, and is now used in at least North Africa, Japan, Korea, and Russia, with the global trade in bumblebee colonies probably exceeding 1 million nests per year.
While native to Europe, B. terrestris has been introduced as a greenhouse pollinator into many foreign ecosystems. The presence of B. terrestris is becoming an ecological concern in many communities in which it is not native. This species was introduced to Chile in 1998. It has since crossed into Argentina, and is spreading at about 275 km per year. Its spread has been detrimental to populations of Bombus dahlbomii, which is the only bumblebee species native to southern South America (Patagonia, Southern Chile and Argentina). Bombus terrestris populations facilitated such massive and immediate population decline of Bombus dahlbomii through competition and pathogen introduction/spillover.
Dusky bumblebees were first observed in Tasmania in 1992. In 1999, a predatory competition between native pollinating insects and the dusky bumblebee could be demonstrated. In 2010 bumblebees were found all over Tasmania. The negative effects of the introduction of bumblebees were most clearly seen in the reproduction rate of tree lupins (Lupinus arboreus). While the tree lupine is one of the invasive weeds in New Zealand and Chile, this plant has so far remained unnoticed in Tasmania, although Tasmania has a similar climate to New Zealand. Tree lupins in Tasmania lacked suitable pollinators – but this changed with bumblebees. Tree lupins have spread aggressively along the coastal region.
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