Bumblebees

Oliver Prys-Jones studied zoology at the University of St. Andrews and furthered a long term interest in bumblebees and their life histories with doctoral and research fellowship studies at the University of Cambridge. He subsequently qualified in medicine at Liverpool University and remains absorbed by bumblebees while working as a medical practitioner in North Wales.Sarah Corbet has taught entomology and ecology in London University and the University of Cambridge. Her research interest is in pollination ecology, with a special focus on bumblebees.

The Naturalist Handbook series started in 1983 with Insects on Nettles and my own collection goes up to number 27 Insects on Cherry Trees published in 1999. The first four were published by Cambridge University Press and the rest by Richmond Publishing Company. The title under review was first published in 1987 with a revised edition published in 1991. The new edition has revised and updated the text and reading list as well as including Bombus hypnorum, a species new to Britain in 2001. Bombus cryptorum has also been added to the list but B. subterraneus is now considered to be extinct. So the current British bumblebee fauna is now made up of 24 species (one less than the number recognized in the earlier edition), including the 6 parasitic ‘cuckoo’ bumblebees which had previously been placed in a separate genus Psithyrus but are now considered as belonging to the genus Bombus.The four plates of beautiful coloured illustrations by Anthony Hopkins have been retained and modified to reflect the small changes in the British list. A very welcome change is that the distribution maps have been increased in size and reproduced in colour, making them considerably easier to study.The book starts with a useful introduction followed by a section on the distribution and recognition of species. There are about 250 species of bumblebees in the world, the majority of which occur in the North Temperate Zone. The authors discuss the significance and often damaging effects of introducing non-native species. The third chapter on the natural history of true bumblebees uses four of the commonest species to illustrate the range of natural history. It is only the queen that survives the winter and she general emerges from hibernation in spring. However, we have a winter-flowering honeysuckle in the garden outside our kitchen window and in December and January we have a very busy bumblebee foraging amongst the flowers. I look forward to studying her more closely and using the excellent keys to identify her!Chapter 4 discusses the nesting habits of bumblebees and the possibility of establishing a captive colony. Chapter 5 deals with the cuckoo bumblebees, parasites, nest associates and predators. Chapter 6 discusses in great detail the foraging behaviour and invites individuals and groups to carry out detailed studies of the occurrence and behaviour of bumblebees. This is followed by a chapter on the threats, conservation and commercial use of bumblebees. Chapter 8 provides detailed advice and keys for the identification of bumblebees and is followed by a chapter on how to study these beautiful creatures. Chapter 10 provides a list of books and references for further reading amongst which is the superb volume 98 of the New Naturalist Library Bumblebees by Ted Benton, a beautifully illustrated and detailed account of these fascinating insects.Finally the book is completed with a useful and concise index. This is a beautiful and interesting book which should appeal to the general naturalist as well as the specialist.

• Introduction; Distribution and recognition; The natural history of true bumblebees (Bombus); Nests and their establishment in captivity; Cuckoo bumblebees Bombus (Psithyrus), parasites and nest associates; Foraging behaviour; Threats, conservation and commercial use; Identification; Approaches to original work: techniques and web resources; Further reading and references; Synonymy; Index; Distribution maps