Bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus Latr.) of the thermal spring Pymvashor, north-east of European Russia

Abstract

A bumblebee community was studied at Pymvashor, the only thermal spring in North European Russia. The bumblebee fauna comprised 12 species, which is a large number when compared to other native tundra ecosystems. Most of the species recorded were ubiquitous, 3 were forest species and 2 were typical tundra species. The presence of the ubiquitous and forest species in the bumblebee community appears to be due to the landscape features and the perennial impact of the hot springs, under the influence of which specific extrazonal ecosystems arise that are different from those typical of the tundra zone.