Learn what you can do to help native bee populations recover.Īt least two bumblebee species have been listed as Missouri species of conservation concern: Like most other native pollinators, many bumblebee species are declining, which is deeply concerning because of their essential role in nature and in agriculture. Many observers have remarked on the easy-going nature of bumblebees, which allow people to watch as they go about their nesting activities. Learn more about bumblebees and other apid bees (family Apidae) on their family page.Īlthough bumblebees are social insects and are capable of stinging, they do not aggressively defend their colonies like some species of wasps or like Africanized honeybees. Hummingbird moths and other sphinx moths also mimic bumblebees. Also, there are many flies and beetles that have yellow-and-black patterns that mimic the warning colors of bees and wasps. There are many species of bees that you have probably never heard of. Similar species: Carpenter bees ( Xylocopa spp.), which carve nest holes in dead wood, are similar in size, shape, and color, but they have shiny, hairless black abdomens, while bumblebees have fuzz on their yellow-and-black-banded abdomens. Entomologists and dedicated amateurs use details of wing venation and other structural fine points to identify the different species in this genus. Females have pollen baskets on the last pair of legs.Īt least six species of bumblebees occur in Missouri. Bumblebees (genus Bombus) always have some fuzz on the abdomen. In Native American symbolism the bumblebee represents honesty, pure thinking, willingness and drive.Bumblebees are large, fuzzy or hairy bees with a black and yellow (sometimes orange), usually banded, coloration.A great way for everyone to help bumblebees is to plant wildflowers in gardens or in plant-pots for window-ledges. Unlike many other species’ conservation efforts, bumblebee conservation is genuinely something that everyone can play a major role in.In some regions where hedgerows (where queens forage and build nests) are scarce, crop yields are already falling. Many arable and horticultural crops depend on bumblebees for pollination. While bumblebees are fascinating and wonderful animals which deserve to be protected for their inherent value, their ecological and economic value is also undeniable, with around one third of human food requiring bee pollination.They use this information to find out if a flower has been recently visited by another bee. Bumblebees use a combination of colour and spatial relationships to learn from which flowers to forage. They can also detect both the presence and the pattern of electric fields on flowers, which occur due to atmospheric electricity, and take a while to leak away into the ground.This illustrates the huge importance of bumblebees and why they are known as a ‘keystone species’. This will also have a catastrophic impact on other wildlife which are dependent on these plant species. Bumblebee species are on the decline in Europe, North America and Asia, predominantly due to the rise in industrial agriculture.Bumblebees also use their wings to raise their body temperature.During warm summer periods, bumblebees hover at the top of the nest and vibrate their wings in order to circulate the air and maintain a nice cool nest, performing the work that a ceiling fan does for humans.This is a clever form of deception which enhances the bee’s evolutionary fitness.

A cuckoo bumblebee will lay its eggs in the nest of other bumblebees, and leave the workers of that nest to rear the young.This is however quite small compared to honeybees that can have nests with over 50,000 bees. Bumblebees are social animals and colonies can contain up to 150 individual bees.So if a bee is buzzing near you the best thing you can do is stay calm and let it fly away in its own time rather than flapping about, which is more likely to cause you and the bee harm! They only attack people when they are threatened. The bumblebee is peaceful and not aggressive, even compared to the honeybee.Only the worker bees and Queen have a sting.There are over 250 known species of bumblebee worldwide, and 24 in the UK.

Bumbled bee