![]() ![]() This is why you rarely see the really big buzz-bombs after spring – they’re at home, laying eggs.įemales born after the first brood are not sterile and mate soon after emerging from the nest, adding more workers and drones. Workers are usually smaller than the queen. Once the first batch has grown, she spends the remainder of her time laying more eggs while the workers tend to housekeeping chores and collect pollen. She lays her first brood of about six eggs on top of this mix – these will grow to be the sterile female workers. She also constructs a larger pot that gets stocked with a mixture of pollen and nectar. Once a site has been chosen, the queen constructs a few wax pots that she tops up with honey, to sip from while she tends her eggs. Bumblebees (Bombus) nesting on top of the ground in vegetation. Others simply make a nest on top of the ground and loosely cover it with thatch and vegetative debris. Ground nesters, Bombus species often nest in an existing ground cavity such as an abandoned rodent burrow. Females will sting when provoked to defend their nest, and queens usually only sting other queens. Male drones are stingless but queens and female workers can sting, although they’re usually non-aggressive. ![]() Highly social, they form colonies with a single queen and several workers – sterile females and male drones. Ranging in size from 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches, they’re covered with short, spiky hair, are mostly black in coloring, and typically have stripes of orange, white, or yellow. A bumblebee feeding on the nectar of a red clover flower. Commonly Confused Backyard Species Bumblebees ( Bombus)īumblebees belong to the Apidae family in the genus Bombus, and North America is home to approximately 50 species – most folks will be familiar with at least some of them. ![]() Most species are short lived, lasting only one season – just long enough to mate, nest, and lay eggs. The nectar the adults sip provides a high-octane fuel, and mothers will often collect enough to mix in with their stash of pollen to form “loaves” to lay their eggs on. And they’re particularly adapted for the reproduction of native plants, such as blueberries, cranberries, squash, and tomatoes.įlying from flower to flower, they collect loose pollen on their body fur, cover their legs with it (creating what are referred to as “pollen pants”), or groom it into pollen baskets on their legs or tummies.Ī naturally abundant source of protein, the collected pollen is used as a food source for the larvae that are growing in brood chambers. But, there are always exceptions!Ī key player in most ecosystems, they have a vital role in pollinating all blossoming plants, from food crops to wildflowers. Unlike honeybees, which were imported by European settlers in the 1620s, most native species are socially solitary, nest in underground chambers, and produce no honey. With over 4,000 species, native North American bees can be found anywhere that flowers bloom. Understanding Common Ground and Wood Nesting Bees ![]()
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