Bumble Bee: Facts and Resources about Bumble Bees

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What is a Bumble Bee?

A bumble bee is the generic name for an insect that has more than 250 species within its genus. The insect is characterized by its yellow and black colorings and its unique ability and need to pollinate living plant and flower life.

What is the scientific Classification of a Bumble Bee?

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Apidae

Genus: Bombus

Species: There are more than 250 species of bumble bees spread throughout the world, primarily in temperate climates

Quick fun facts about Bumble Bees

Latin name:
The genus of bees is bombus. This category is divided into 15 subcategories, which include the Alpigenobombus, Alpinobombus, Bombias, Bombus sensu stricto, Cullumanobombus, Kallobombus, Megabombus, Melanobombus, Mendacibombus, Orientalibombus, Psithyrus, Pyrobombus, Sibiricobombus, Subterraneobombus and Thoracobombus.

These 15 subcategories include a total of more than 250 species of bumble bees.

Bumble Bees breeding:
There is only one queen bee in each colony that is responsible for each new bee that is born. The queen determines how many males and females to create. She mates with a male bee at a given time, and stores the male sperm in her spermatheca, a storage container of sorts inside her reproductive system. She can use or dispose of the sperm at any point if she decides to use or not use the fertilizer. Interestingly, the female lays unfertilized eggs, which all become male worker bees, and fertilized eggs, which become female and queen bees.

Bumble Bees color:
Bumble bees are most commonly black and yellow. However, there are hundreds of species of bumble bees, and some are entirely black. Some are a combination of black and rusty orange.

Life expectancy of Bumble Bees:
Bumble bees can live anywhere from three weeks to three years. Their life expectancy varies greatly on their living conditions, climate, predators and available food sources.

Predators of the Bumble Bee:
Bumble bees are killed more often by parasites than they are by predators.

What is a baby Bumble Bee known as:
Larvae (small wormlike creatures); until they transform into their permanent bodies, at which time they are called callows

Female Bumble Bees are called:
Fertile females are called queen bees. Each colony only has one queen bee. Infertile females are called worker bees, and carry on work alongside male bees in the colony.

Male Bumble Bees are called:
Male bumble bees are called worker bees, as they work their whole lives to build the colony, feed the colony and fertilize the queen bee’s eggs if she chooses them as a mate.

A group of Bumble Bees is called:
A group of bumble bees is called a colony. Bees live inside of hives in colonies that include thousands of bees.

How tall is a Bumble Bee?
Bumble bees usually weigh anywhere between 0.04g and 0.60g. Large queen bees can weigh up to 0.85g. The size depends highly on the particular species of the bee, whether it has recently fed on nectar and pollen, and whether it is a worker bee or a queen bee.

How much does a Bumble Bee weigh?
Bumble bees usually weigh anywhere between 0.04g to 0.60g. Large queen bees can weigh up to 0.85g. The size depends highly on the particular species of the bee, whether it has recently fed on nectar and pollen, and whether it is a worker bee or a queen bee.

Where are Bumble Bees found?
Bumble bees are native to the Northern Hemisphere, in temperate climates. They forage in the warm months, and hibernate in the cold months. Some species have been introduced worldwide because of their popularity for glasshouse or greenhouse pollination. Because of this global introduction, the bees may begin to spread throughout many new areas, however most species are seeing declines in population despite their spread to new territories.

What do Bumble Bees Eat?
Bumble bees eat nectar from flowers. They typically also eat pollen, which the hairs on their bodies pick up as they eat nectar in each flower. Flower nectar mixes with enzymes in the bees digestive system, which create honey within the bees body. While bees are hibernating in the winter, they eat honey and pollen that has been stored by thousands of worker bees during the previous summer and autumn.

What is the difference between a wasp and a bee?
Wasps eat animal food, bugs, insects and spiders. Bees feed their young pollen and honey.

What does a Bumble Bee look like?

A bumble bee is an insect that has an exoskeleton, or a skeleton on the outside of the body (rather than an endoskeleton, which is located on the inside of a body, like humans). The exoskeleton includes three distinct parts, a head, a thorax and an abdomen. These three parts are connected in a line much the same way that an ant’s body parts are connected. The head contains the eyes, mouthparts and antennae of the bee. The thorax holds a pair of fore wings (large) and a pair of rear wings (small). The thorax is also the location of the leg joints. The two back legs of a bumble bee attach to the thorax and contain the tibia, metatarsus and tarsus pieces. This allows the bee to have a three-jointed leg. The abdomen contains the digestive and reproductive systems and the stinger (depending on the bee species and sex).

Bees use their antennae in the same way that humans use their noses and their hands. They are used for both touching and smelling. The eyes of a bumble bee are compound eyes, made up of thousands of hexagonal units.

Conservation status of Bumble Bees

The conservation status of bumble bees is currently being established. Because of the vast territory on which the species all live, and because hundreds of species exist, it is extremely difficult for scientists to grasp exactly how severely the population of bumble bees is currently declining. The decline is very severe, however. Bumble bee populations around the world in North America, Europe and Asia have all seen declining numbers due to urbanization, poisonous pesticide use and climate change. The determinant factors are, as of yet, speculation and educated guesswork. Hopefully in the near future, scientists will be able to determine a way to save populations from declining as they are, to save the bee population and to save the trees and food that they pollinate.

Resources about Bumble Bees

National Geographic – Bumble Bee
website

Bumble Bee Facts – Very detailed information about bumble bees and other bees and wasps
website

Washington Nature Mapping Program
website

Resource by k.Pearson

My name is Kim, I am a volunteer at a local Zoo in Chicago, IL. I have been a volunteer for about 5 years now and love it. My full time job is at a vet just outside of the city. I am intrigued by the nature of animals and how they interact with one another.

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