Scientific publications

This article focuses on new records for the bumblebee fauna in the upper reaches of the Northern Dvina River located in the south-eastern part of the Arkhangelsk Region. We found 31 species, which accounts for the bulk of the regional bumblebee fauna. The core of the fauna of bumblebees in the Northern Dvina upper reaches is species with a wide distribution, i.e., Transpalaearctic with a temperate type of zonal distribution, which is typical in Northern European Russia as a result of post-glacial immigration. The cryptic species of the Bombus lucorum-complex found in the upper reaches of the Northern Dvina River were B. lucorum and B. cryptarum, as well as B. terrestris. For B. terrestris, the study area is the northern limit of the species range in the Arkhangelsk Region. Apart from B. terrestris, the southern part of the Arkhangelsk Region is the northern distribution limit for B. laesus ssp. mocsaryi, B. deuteronymus, and B. campestris. A significant part of the studied fauna is represented by species with a southern distribution, such as B. soroeensis, B. distinguendus, B. laesus ssp. mocsaryi, B. humilis, B. rupestris, B. campestris, B. quadricolor, B. terrestris, B. sichelii, B. lapidarius. Their presence is explained by a wide occurrence of secondary meadows in south-eastern part of this region, which offer favorable conditions for bumblebees. Records from the Northern Dvina upper reaches include also species red-listed in the Arkhangelsk Region, viz. B. consobrinus, B. modestus, B. patagiatus and B. schrencki.