Nest architecture and species status of the bumble bee Bombus (Mendacibombus) shaposhnikovi (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombini)

The nesting behaviour of the subgenus Mendacibombus is known only from Bombus mendax. Here, we describe the nest of a second species of Mendacibombus, that of Bombus shaposhnikovi. The nest was discovered in an abandoned rodent nest at 2,295 m near Artvin (Turkey) on August 12, 2007. Except for the absence of a canopy and the non-hexagonal shape of the honey and pollen pots, the architecture of the B. shaposhnikovi nest is consistent with that of the previously described B. mendax: eggs are oviposited individually in independent egg cell, post-emergence pupal cells are not reused for food storage and males return to the parental colony overnight. Observation of intranidal colour polymorphism provides evidence that the yellowish B. shaposhnikovi and the greyish Bombus handlirschianus might be conspecific. This conspecific status had been suggested by a recent comprehensive molecular study.