Bumble bee road toll (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)

Authors

  • B Donovan
  • S Read

Abstract

During a journey from Lincoln to Twizel on 24 November 2009, we became aware that bumble bee queens were being struck by our vehicle, a Hyundai 100 van. Bumble bee queens were often seen flying across the road ahead of the vehicle, appearing as a large (for an insect) compact, rather rotund, fast-moving blob. Sometimes they and the front of the vehicle collided violently, producing a loud, solid thud. Due to the size and shape of bumble bee queens, we thought they could not be confused with other insects, and when impacting with the vehicle no other insect made such a distinct sound.

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Published

2011-07-01

How to Cite

[1]
Donovan, B. and Read, S. 2011. Bumble bee road toll (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). The Wētā. 41, (Jul. 2011), 49–52.

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Section

Articles