Bumblebees

Bumblebees have always been favoured subjects for scientific study, and research has accelerated in recent years. Many new discoveries have been made with regard to their ecology and social behaviour. Over the last twenty years the world has seen the commercialisation of bumblebee breeding for pollination, and the invasion of new parts of the globe by bumblebee species, with potentially far-reaching consequences. Despite this, there is still a great deal that we do not know about bumblebees. Their nests are so hard to locate that those of some species have never been found and aspects of behaviour, such as mating, have not been seen in many species. Bumblebees are undergoing a widespread decline, an issue that has yet to reach the public to the same extent as the plight of rare butterflies or birds. This is a cause for concern as the bumblebee is of far greater ecological and economic importance than these groups because the pollination of crops and the survival of many wildflowers depend upon them. Goulson has successfully drawn attention to the importance of conserving dwindling bumblebee populations, as well as bringing together the current state of knowledge of the behaviour and ecology of these fascinating and charismatic insects, and identifying some of the many gaps that remain in the hope of stimulating further research