Pyrobombus (also known as Fiery-tailed bees) is a subgenus of bumblebees, with its centres of diversity in Central Asia and north-western North America.[1] Nearly a fifth of all Bombus species fall within Pyrobombus and its member species vary considerably in size, appearance and behaviour.[2] It covers 43 species of bees and is the largest subgenus of bumblebees, covering almost 50% of the North American bumblebee fauna.[3] They are seen to be declined by 6%,[4] which may be an undervalued statistic, although not as high as other groups of bees. Pyrobombus bees also face issues such as climate change, loss of habitat, urbanization, and industrial agriculture.[5] This subgenus of bees can pollinate which helps plants fertilise and grow fruit that is essential to the biodiversity and life of the environment. Commonly, Pyrobombus bees are used for beekeeping as they are pollinators. They can be for wax, honey, venom, combs, and such which may be collected for commercial use.[6] This subgenus may vary in their characteristics such as body size, wingspan, and tongue length for individual species, but like all bees, they possess wings, a head, thorax, and abdomen.
Pyrobombus | |
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Bombus pratorum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Apidae |
Genus: | Bombus |
Subgenus: | Pyrobombus Dalla Torre, 1880 [1][2] |
Type species | |
Apis hypnorum Linnaeus, 1758
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