Scientific note: New natural history observations expanding the feeding habits of the high-Andean bumblebee Bombus funebris

Abstract Bees are the main group of pollen and nectar foragers in terrestrial habitats around the world. However, many species visit other resources facultatively, to feed, build nests, or collect essences for reproductive or breeding purposes. In the case of the genus Bombus , visits to non-floral resources have been documented in a few species restricted to the Old World, North and Central America. Here, we describe and illustrate, for the first time, necrophagy and coprophagy in a South American bumblebee, the high-Andean Bombus funebris (Smith, 1854) associated with Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus) in Pichincha Province, Ecuador. This natural history information provides novel knowledge on the trophic habits and behavior of South American Bombus species.