Pablo Negri Edwards | Photographer, Naturalist, Environmental activist
It was an ever-present companion from those childhood field trips throughout Chile: Bombus dahlbomii. Today, that dear old friend known by most of us as the Giant Bumblebee, or dulliñ in the beautiful native tongue of the Mapuche, is facing extinction, maybe as soon as 2030 if the latest estimates from the world of entomological science are correct. Paradoxically, that is the same year established in a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in reference to the 1.5 °C breaking point of the climate crisis and the impending global warming. The previous causes of the extermination of the dulliñ, in addition to the arrival of invasive species of introduced bees, include the widespread use of toxic pesticides and a loss of habitat associated with the devasting practices of deforestation and intensive agriculture. So just imagine my surprise when during a wonderful day of nature photography in Mari Mari, I suddenly discovered hundreds of examples of this bee buzzing around the native flowers so characteristic of the temperate forest of southern Chile. It is right here where we now find the greatest concentration of a bee that is included in the IUCN ‘Red List’ of endangered species. A jewel. A privilege. A gift from Mari Mari.
1) “Actualización de la Lista Sistemática de las Abejas Chilenas” – Montalva et al. (2010) LINK(In Spanish)
Pablo Negri Edwards | Photographer, Naturalist, Environmental activist
It was an ever-present companion from those childhood field trips throughout Chile: Bombus dahlbomii. Today, that dear old friend known by most of us as the Giant Bumblebee, or dulliñ in the beautiful native tongue of the Mapuche, is facing extinction, maybe as soon as 2030 if the latest estimates from the world of entomological science are correct. Paradoxically, that is the same year established in a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in reference to the 1.5 °C breaking point of the climate crisis and the impending global warming. The previous causes of the extermination of the dulliñ, in addition to the arrival of invasive species of introduced bees, include the widespread use of toxic pesticides and a loss of habitat associated with the devasting practices of deforestation and intensive agriculture. So just imagine my surprise when during a wonderful day of nature photography in Mari Mari, I suddenly discovered hundreds of examples of this bee buzzing around the native flowers so characteristic of the temperate forest of southern Chile. It is right here where we now find the greatest concentration of a bee that is included in the IUCN ‘Red List’ of endangered species. A jewel. A privilege. A gift from Mari Mari.
1) “Actualización de la Lista Sistemática de las Abejas Chilenas” – Montalva et al. (2010) LINK (In Spanish)
2) “IUCN Red List – Bombus dahlbomii” (2019) LINK
3) “Ficha Antecedente Especie Bombus dahlbomii” – Ministy of the Environment, Chile (2015) LINK (In Spanish)
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