Nature Conservation Union Austria
Of the 42 bumblebee species in Austria, 25 defy alpine conditions and pollinate the diverse alpine flora. As part of the joint bee protection fund, the grocer HOFER and Naturschutzbund are calling this summer to look out for the bumblebee especially when hiking in the mountains!
The Höhenhummel (Bombus sicklei) is widespread in alpine regions. But there is too little scientific data on this. The regions where they occur are not so easy to reach either. To find out more about this fluffy bummer, it now needs the help of Citizen Scientists. The Naturschutzbund therefore invites hikers and mountaineers interested in nature to share their observations on naturbeobachtung.at or the app of the same name. A little tip: the mountain bumblebee can often be seen when visiting the blossoms of alpine roses, alpine clover species, knapweed and thistles.
But how do you recognize the alpine wild bee? Bumblebee species can be differentiated based on the individual color pattern of the hair. Straw-yellow-black-straw-yellow on the back and straw-yellow-black-orange on the abdomen - that's where you can spot the bumblebee. The underside of the body of the approximately one and a half centimeter tall workers is darkly hairy in contrast to that of the very similar Pyrenean bumblebee.
Bumblebees on naturbeobachtung.at
Anyone who discovers a bumblebee and shares the observation - reports from all other bumblebee species are also important - not only receive identification help from experts, but also help science. The valuable evidence completes the picture of the distribution of the individual species. On the one hand, this requires meaningful photos - preferably from several perspectives, because this is the best way to see the typical colorations. On the other hand, location data as precise as possible, including altitude data, are required.
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