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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #389684
Research Project: Sustainable Crop Production and Wildland Preservation through the Management, Systematics, and Conservation of a Diversity of Bees

Location: Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research

Title: The interception of Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863 found in imported produce purchased in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i

Author
item Koch, Jonathan
item KING, CYNTHIA - Hawaii Department Of Land And Natural Resources
item Lindsay, Tien
item MATSUNAGA, JANIS - Hawaii Department Of Agriculture
item MOSSMAN, BRET NAINOA - Hawaii Department Of Land And Natural Resources

Submitted to: Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/4/2022
Publication Date: 3/12/2022
Citation: Koch, J., King, C.B., Lindsay, T.T., Matsunaga, J.N., Mossman, B. 2022. The interception of Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863 found in imported produce purchased in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i. Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings. 54:37-40.

Interpretive Summary: At least 3,220 species of adventive terrestrial arthropods have been documented in Hawai‘i. The human-mediated pathways in which insects move beyond their native distributions are numerous, and their impacts range from highly disruptive to seemingly innocuous. In this note, we report on the interception of Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Hawai‘i Island, which is the first verified quarantine record of a live bumble bee accidentally imported into the Hawaiian Islands.

Technical Abstract: At least 3,220 species of adventive terrestrial arthropods have been documented in Hawai‘i. The human-mediated pathways in which insects move beyond their native distributions are numerous, and their impacts range from highly disruptive to seemingly innocuous. Invasive insects can impose significant harm across diverse human and environmental dimensions in Hawai‘i. Direct predation by invasive insects can adversely impact the persistence of endemic species such as the demonstrated impact of invasive ants on the nesting success of endangered Hylaeus anthracinus (Smith, 1853) (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Introduced Hymenoptera can also act as competitors to native Hylaeus bees and serve as reservoirs for pathogens which have the potential to spillover to sensitive wild populations. In this note, we report on the interception of Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Hawai‘i Island, which is the first verified quarantine record of a live bumble bee accidentally imported into the Hawaiian Islands.