The bees of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), with notes on distribution, taxonomy, pollination, and natural history
Author
Gibbs, Jason
Author
Ascher, John S.
Author
Rightmyer, Molly G.
Author
Isaacs, Rufus
text
Zootaxa
2017
2017-11-21
4352
1
1
160
journal article
31367
10.11646/zootaxa.4352.1.1
543c4afc-4ffb-4e11-a858-a6d1d9745214
1175-5326
1063854
7C684128-FFA7-48AA-B395-B9C6BC39353A
Bombus
(
Psithyrus
)
ashtoni
(
Cresson 1864
)
(
bohemicus
group)
County records:
Alcona,
Alger
, Allegan, Alpena, Arenac, Baraga, Barry, Bay, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Clare, Clinton, Crawford, Delta, Dickinson, Emmet, Gladwin, Gogebic, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Houghton, Huron, Ingham, Iosco, Iron, Isabella, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Keweenaw, Lake, Leelanau, Lenawee, Livingston, Luce, Mackinac, Manistee, Marquette, Mason, Mecosta, Menominee, Midland, Missaukee, Montmorency, Oakland, Ogemaw, Ontonagon, Osceola, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Schoolcraft, Shiawassee, Washtenaw, Wexford.
Notes.
Bombus ashtoni
is a social parasite of
B
.
affinis
and
B
.
terricola
(
Plath 1922
,
1927
). The severe declines in
B
.
affinis
and range contractions to the north of
B
.
terricola
(
Cameron
et al.
2011
)
imply even greater declines in
B
.
ashtoni
, decline of which was first noted in the late 1990s at Ithaca, Tompkins Co.,
New
York
by JSA (pers. obs.). To our knowledge, no specimen has been collected in
Michigan
since at least 1993 (OSUC record), but there has been a lack of recent collections in the UP and NLP where
B
.
terricola
is still present.
Williams
et al.
(2014)
treat
B
.
ashtoni
as a junior synonym of
B
.
bohemicus
Seidl, 1838
, a relatively common species in the Palaearctic region. There are subtle differences between the two in male genitalia (
Williams 1991
), but DNA sequence data show few differences (
Cameron
et al.
2007
;
Williams
et al.
2014
). Because of this synonymy,
Hatfield
et al.
(2016)
list this species as data deficient due to the need for a global analysis, although the North American populations are recognized as critically endangered. Lack of recent records in both specimen and image databases (e.g., http:// bugguide.net) validates concern about the status of North American populations of this bee.