Bumblebees

Wasps and Bees Bald-faced Hornet Black and Yellow Mud Dauber Honeybees Ichneumon Paper Wasps (Polistes) Tarantula Hawk Steel Blue Cricket Hunter Western Paper Wasp

Bumblebees are large and fuzzy social insects in the genus Bombus, and they are in the same family as honeybees, Apidae.

They are colony nesters with underground nests. The traditional colony consists of a queen with workers and drones. Most colonies are small, reducing the possibility of swarming behavior harmful to humans, unless the colony is directly aggitated.

Bumblebee species are primarily differentiated by color. The top picture shows the most obvious color differentiation, between the more common bumblebee with a black tail and the red-tailed bumblebee.

Like honeybees, a bumblees' life also consists of the day to day work of pollinating flowers. For this reason, gardeners and farmers consider them beneficial insects.

Unlike honeybees, bumblebees do not build up large supplies of honey in their nests.

© 2005-2008 Patricia A. Michaels