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One of the most important pollinator taxa is Bombus (Hymenoptera, Apidae), the genus of bumble bees, since they are important, often specialized, pollinators of many plants. As a result of climate change, warming winters and changes in landscape structure, the distribution and frequency of Bombus species is constantly changing. To develop appropriate protection strategies, it is essential to monitor them and update the occurrence and threat status of the species. The last review of the distribution of Bombus species in Hungary was completed 20 years ago. Here we present updated distribution maps based on published data from the last 20 years together with unpublished data collected in 2018--2021. Based on the new data, we examine changes in the last two decades. In the case of 9 species further studies should be carried out to confirm the presence of stable populations, while 3 species are recommended for protection by law in Hungary. Seven species showed increasing frequency, B. argillaceus and B. haematurus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species range expansions are crucial for understanding niche formation and the interaction with the environment. Here, we studied the bumblebee Bombus haematurus Kriechbaumer, 1870, a species historically distributed from northern Serbia through northern Iran which has very recently started expanding northwestward into Central Europe without human‐mediated dispersal (i.e., it is a natural spread). After updating the global distribution of this species, we investigated if niche shifts took place during this range expansion between newly colonized and historical areas. In addition, we have explored which climatic factors may have favored the natural range expansion of the species. Our results indicated that Bombus haematurus has colonized large territories in 7 European countries outside the historical area in the period from the 1980s to 2018, a natural expansion over an area that equals 20% of the historical distribution. In addition, this bumblebee performs generalism in flower visitation and it occurs in different habitats, although a preference for forested areas clearly emerges. The land‐use associated with the species in the colonized areas is similar to the historical distribution, indicating that no major niche shifts occurred during the spread. Furthermore, in recently colonized localities, the range expansion was associated with warming temperatures during the winter and also during both queen overwintering and emergence phases. These findings document a case of natural range expansion due to environmental change rather than due to niche shifts, and specifically they suggest that warmer winters could be linked to the process of natural colonization of new areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercially reared cavity‐nesting bees have been studied mainly in large, intensively managed orchards. However, knowledge on wild cavity‐nesting bee and wasp communities and their potential limitations in smaller orchards remain insufficient.We compared the colonization rate of trapnests, nesting success, parasitism and response to flower resources of cavity‐nesting bees and wasps between apple orchards and nearby semi‐natural habitats (SNHs).Trapnests were placed in orchards and neighbouring SNHs. Colonization dynamics were studied and herbaceous flower resources were estimated. Furthermore, nest and brood cell quantity, number of alive offspring and nest parasitism rate were assessed.We found a higher colonization rate in the SNHs than in the orchards. Both bees and wasps made more nests, completed more brood cells and had a higher number of alive offspring in the SNHs. The number of bee nests in the orchards showed a positive correlation with the species richness of the flowering plants. The nest parasitism of wasps was higher in the SNHs.Apple orchards in the studied small‐scale system were generally less colonized by cavity‐nesting hymenopterans than nearby SNHs that can be important reservoirs of these ecosystem service provider hymenopterans. Our results highlight the importance of diverse flowering herbaceous vegetation in the understory that increased the number of bee nests in orchards and that could have a positive effect on the nesting activity of the bee species active in summer. Therefore, management practices that support flowering plant species in the understory vegetation are highly recommended in such orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the book, the author writes about the functioning of bee senses, primarily vision, which greatly helps bees find flowers and feed on them. Bees, whether honeybees or wild bees, have become the focus of interest in the last decades in the world of science and in everyday life. [Extracted from the article]

1 Pollination is an important ecosystem service because many agricultural crops such as fruit trees are pollinated by insects. Agricultural intensification, however, is one of the main drivers resulting in a serious decline of pollinator populations worldwide. 2 In the present study, pollinator communities were examined in 12 apple orchards surrounded by either homogeneous or heterogeneous landscape in Hungary. Pollinators (honey bees, wild bees, hoverflies) were surveyed in the lowering period of apple trees. Landscape heterogeneity was characterized within a radius of 300, 500 and 1000m around each orchard using Shannon's diversity and Shannon's evenness indices. 3 We found that pollination success of apple was significantly related to the species richness of wild bees, regardless the dominance of honey bees. 4 Diversity of the surrounding landscape matrix had a marginal positive effect on the species richness of hoverflies within a radius of 300m and a positive effect on the species richness of wild bees within a radius of 500m, whereas evenness of the surrounding landscape enhanced the abundance of wild bees within a radius of 500m. Flower resources in the groundcover within the orchards supported honey bees. 5 Therefore, the maintenance of semi-natural habitats within 500m around apple orchards is highly recommended to enhance wild pollinator communities and apple production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]