Cited by 1,183Plant and animal studiesInsect and Pesticide ResearchInsect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

Decline and conservation of bumble bees

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Goulson, D., Lye, G.C., Darvill, B.·2008·Annual Review of Entomology

Abstract

Declines in bumble bee species in the past 60 years are well documented in Europe, where they are driven primarily by habitat loss and declines in floral abundance and diversity resulting from agricultural intensification. Impacts of habitat degradation and fragmentation are likely to be compounded by the social nature of bumble bees and their largely monogamous breeding system, which renders their effective population size low. Hence, populations are susceptible to stochastic extinction events and inbreeding. In North America, catastrophic declines of some bumble bee species since the 1990s are probably attributable to the accidental introduction of a nonnative parasite from Europe, a result of global trade in domesticated bumble bee colonies used for pollination of greenhouse crops. Given the importance of bumble bees as pollinators of crops and wildflowers, steps must be taken to prevent further declines. Suggested measures include tight regulation of commercial bumble bee use and targeted use of environmentally comparable schemes to enhance floristic diversity in agricultural landscapes.

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Crossref · 10.1146/annurev.ento.53.103106.093454

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103 of 103 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Current data suggest an overall pattern of decline in insect diversity and abundance.

    “Current data suggest an overall pattern of decline in insect diversity and abundance.”
  • Data for bees and moths suggest the same declining trend as for other well-studied taxa.

    “Data for other well-studied taxa such as bees [8–14] and moths [15–18] suggest the same trend.”
  • Recently reported declines in butterflies, wild bees and moths are in parallel with a severe loss of total aerial insect biomass, suggesting that the flying insect community as a whole has been decimated over the last few decades.

    “Our results demonstrate that recently reported declines in several taxa such as butterflies [7, 25–27, 58], wild bees [8–14] and moths [15–18], are in parallel with a severe loss of total aerial insect biomass, suggesting that it is not only the vulnerable species, but the flying insect community as a whole, that has been decimated over the last few decades.”

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Authors
Goulson, D., Lye, G. C., & Darvill, B.
Affiliations
University of Stirling (GB)
Venue
Annual Review of Entomology
Published
2008-01-01
Volume
53
Issue
1
Pages
191-208
ISSN
  • 0066-4170 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-4487
OpenAlex
W2100945295
Cited by
1,183
References
104
Citations by year
2026: 45 · 2025: 81 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 74 · 2021: 95 · 2020: 94 · 2019: 80 · 2018: 66 · 2017: 66 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 65 · 2014: 72 · 2013: 68 · 2012: 40
FWCI
3.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Annual Review of Entomology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Stirling Online Research Repository (University of Stirling) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Plant and animal studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Insect and Pesticide Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
Keywords
bumblebees, population decline (ecology), habitat loss, agricultural intensification, floral diversity, habitat fragmentation, inbreeding, stochastic extinction, pollination, conservation, pollinator decline, North America, Europe
MeSH terms
Agriculture, Animals, Bees, Conservation of Natural Resources, Environment, Pesticides, Population Dynamics, Flowers, Biodiversity

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