Bombus irisanensis is a rare species of bumblebee endemic to Luzon in the Philippines.[1][2]

Bombus irisanensis
Holotype at the Natural History Museum, London
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Bombus
Subgenus: Bombus (Megabombus)
Species:
B. irisanensis
Binomial name
Bombus irisanensis
Cockerell, 1910[1]

The hair on the head is mostly black, the thorax is dorsally black and reddish-yellow on the sides. The first two segments of the abdomen are yellow and the rest are black. The legs are black and the wings are sooty colored, but "transparent enough for print to be easily read through them".[1]

The holotype specimen was collected some time between 1906 and 1910, in late May, by an unknown collector.[1][3] It was deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, and first formally named by Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell in 1910.[1] It is placed in the subgenus Bombus (Megabombus).[4] Bombus irisanensis was named for Irisan, a barangay (district) in Baguio, where it was collected.[1][3]

The first public digital record of Bombus irisanensis was added to iNaturalist in June 2019 by Paul Engler.[5] The record may be the first documentation of its continued existence since the 1990s.[2]

Several published articles note it was assessed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List.[2][6] It was not listed on the IUCN website as of December 2020.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Cockerell, T. D. A. (1910). "Descriptions and Records of Bees". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology. Series 8, Vol 5, No. 28. Taylor and Francis, Ltd.: 416. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, Joseph S.; Pan, Aaron D.; General, David Emmanuel M.; Koch, Jonathan B. (1 August 2020). "More eyes on the prize: an observation of a very rare, threatened species of Philippine Bumble bee, Bombus irisanensis, on iNaturalist and the importance of citizen science in conservation biology". Journal of Insect Conservation. 24 (4): 727–729. doi:10.1007/s10841-020-00233-3. ISSN 1572-9753. S2CID 214683885. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b Cockerell, T. D. A. 1919. "The Social Bees of the Philippine Islands". Co. Paper 609.
  4. ^ "Bombus irisanensis Cockerell, 1910". discoverlife.org. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  5. ^ Engler, Paul (17 June 2019). "Bombus irisanensis". iNaturalist. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  6. ^ Koch, Jonathan B.; General, David Emmanuel M. (1 January 2019). "A Preliminary Assessment of Bumble Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Habitat Suitability Across Protected and Unprotected Areas in the Philippines". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 112 (1): 44–49. doi:10.1093/aesa/say046. ISSN 0013-8746. S2CID 91267310. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Search: Bombus irisanensis". iucnredlist.org. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 December 2020.