Scientific publications

This article presents the results of research on bumblebee communities on the Solovetsky Archipelago. Bumblebee communities were studied at three sites, ranked according to the degree of anthropogenic impact on the ecosystems. To identify long-term trends in the bumblebee assemblages of the Solovetsky Islands, a comparison was made with data obtained at key sites in the 2000s. In the community located at the site with low anthropogenic impact in 2025, four bumblebee species were found. The core of this assemblage consisted of Bombus jonellus and B. pascuorum, which are the most widespread species on the Solovetsky Archipelago. Changes in the studied community over the 20-year period were minor. Differences in the relative abundance of B. jonellus and B. pascuorum during the study period are explained by interannual population dynamics of these bumblebee species, associated with variations in weather and climatic conditions. At the site with a moderate degree of anthropogenic impact, a dominance of B. jonellus was observed, while other species, including B. pascuorum, were scanty. Over the past 20-year period, the species richness level in the bumblebee community has decreased, falling from 11 to 6 species. In 2025, species that are rare in the local bumblebee fauna of the Solovetsky Archipelago, such as B. distinguendus, were absent. The probable reason for this is a change in the spectrum of entomophilous food plants in the studied plant community. The structure of bumblebee assemblages in habitats with the high degree of anthropogenic impact is characterized by significant variability in species richness levels and relative abundance. This indicates a rather unstable structure of bumblebee communities in areas with a high degree of anthropogenic impact.