Bumblebees are large yellow-black social insects which collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants. They vary in color from red, yellow and black bands. These pests have a distinct buzz. They have four wings, the two rear ones are usually connected to the forewings.
HOW TO IDENTIFY BUMBLEBEES
- 2 to 4cm in size approximately.
- Yellow, black and orange in color.
- Hairy skin
- Special feature: sting on their tails.
Appearance and Behavior
They have yellow and black hairy bodies like most of the bees but the sting on their tail is a distinctive feature. Also, they have a distinct buzz. They are found all over the northern hemisphere and are social insects. Bumblebees are beneficial to our ecosystem as they pollinate flowers and crops.
They live in colonies divided into social classes like queens, drones, and workers. The queen lays eggs. The drones mate with the queens. The workers do all other works required to maintain the hives.
Another distinct feature of the bumblebees is that they are “scent marking”. They avoid flowers recently visited by other bumblebees so they mark a scent on the flowers to say that the nectar is gone from this flower.
Bumblebees have a smooth stinger. This means they can sting more than once, unlike honeybees who have barbed stingers. Only the queen and worker bumblebees have stingers.
If you have a bumblebee nest near or inside your property, you are likely to hear a distinct buzzing sound and you’ll see them hovering around flowering plants or around your garden.