Bumblebees are familiar and charismatic insects, occuring throughout much of the world. They are increasingly being used as a model organism for studying a wide range of ecological and behavioural concepts, such as social organization, optimal foraging theories, host-parasite interactions, and pollination. Recently there have become a focus for conservationists due to mounting evidence of range contractions and catastrophic extinctions with some species disappearing from entire continents (e.g.in North America). Only by improving our understanding of their ecology can we devise sensible plans to conservate them. The role of bumlebees as invasive species (e.g. Bombus terrestris in Japan) has also become topical with the groving trade in commercial bumblebee nests for tomato pollination leading to the establishment of non-native bumlebees in a number of countries.
Since the publication of the first edition of the book, there have been hundreds of research papers published on bumlebees. There is clearly a continuing need for an affordable, well-illustrated, appealing text that makes all the major advances accessible, in understanding the behaviour and ecology of bumlebees that have been made in the last 30 years. Bumlebees is aimed at students, researchers, and interested amateurs. Technical jargon has been kept to a minimum and sufficient background information is given to enable anyone to follow the text without difficulty.
Format: Paperback
Authors: Dave Goulson
Pages: 317
Dimensions: 167x240x20mm
Weight: 568 g
Publication: 2012
Publisher: Oxford Publishing
ISBN: 978 019955 3075
Language: English