Geographic distribution and associated flora of native and introduced bumble bees ( <i>Bombus</i> spp.) in Chile

Abstract

SummaryIn the present work, we update floral associations and geographical distribution for four species of Bombus present in Chile, two native (B. dahlbomii and B. funebris) and two introduced species (B. terrestris and B. ruderatus). We also examine possible associations among native or introduced bees with native or introduced plant species. We found a significant non-random plant association among non-native bumble bee species and non-native plant species. Because of the distributional overlap between B. dahlbomii with the two non-native bee species, it is likely that B. dahlbomii interacts with these non-native bees.