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Bumble Bees Are Essential

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Bumble Bees Are Essential Prepared by the Bombus Task Force of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Photo Sheila Colla Rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affi nis Declining North American Bumble Bees Photo David Inouye Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis Bumble Bees Helping Photo James Strange are Pollinators Essential Thrive Franklin bumble bee, Bombus franklini Bumble Bee Facts Photo Leif Richardson Globally, there are about 250 described species Some bumble bee are known to rob fl owers of bumble bees. They are found primarily in the of their nectar. Nectar robbing occurs when temperate zones of North and South America, a bee extracts nectar from a fl ower without and Eurasia. coming into contact with its reproductive Yellow-banded bumble bee, Bumble bees are documented to pollinate parts (i.e. anthers and/or stigma), usually Bombus terricola many important food crops. They are also more by biting a hole at the base of the fl ower. Photo Ron Hemberger effective than honey bees at pollinating crops Bumble bees are effective buzz pollinators grown in greenhouses. of several economically important plants in When most insects are inactive due to cold the family Solanaceae such as tomato, bell temperatures bumble bees are able to fl y by pepper and eggplant. In buzz pollination warming their fl ight muscles by shivering, bees extract pollen from a fl ower by American bumble bee, enabling them to raise their body temperature vibrating against the fl ower’s anthers, Bombus pensylvanicus as necessary for fl ight. making an audible buzzing noise. Instead of starting their own colonies, some Currently, the Common Eastern bumble bee bumble bee species have evolved to take over (Bombus impatiens) is the only species being another species’ colony to rear their young. These commercially reared for pollination services ‘cuckoo’ bees then use the workers from the queen- in North America, despite the fact that it is less colony to feed and care for their offspring. only native to the eastern U.S. and Canada. NAPPC Visit www.pollinator.org/brochures.htm to order copies of this brochure. Bumble Bee Life Cycle Visit www.pollinator.org to see how much you can do. The primary function of the nest is to house all members of the colony, particularly developing bees in cocoons (globular sacs in the picture below) laid by the queen. Empty cocoons are used to store nectar and pollen that are replenished by foraging bumble bees. Below is a bumble bee nest made in the fi berglass insulation of a house in Maryland. Photo David Inouye Photo Leah Lewis • Pesticide Use – These Bumble Bees at Risk? chemicals are meant to Recent research in Canada and the United affect pests but may have Bumble Bees vs. States has shown drastic declines in some harmful effects on bumble bumble bee species. In particular, four bumble bees as they forage from Honey Bees: bees have declined through much of their treated What’s the Difference? range over the past few decades—the Franklin plants as well as untreated Bumble Bee (Bombus franklini), the Rusty- plants. Bumble bee colonies last only patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affi nis), the one year. Western Bumble Bee (Bombus occidentalis) Honey bee colonies can last and the American Bumble Bee (Bombus What you can do more than one year. pensylvanicus). Researchers are currently to help protect working to determine the causes of these Bumble bees typically nest Photo Sheila Colla Bumble bee bumble bees: underground in rodent declines, but some possible factors include: burrows, and sometimes on • Habitat Loss – Bumble bees need three • Plant pollen- and nectar-rich the ground surface. types of habitat, all of which may be plants in your garden Managed honey bees nest threatened by urbanization and other forms • Provide habitat for bumble bees inside bee boxes; feral honey of land alteration: • Buy organic and locally Photo Steve Buchmann bees typically nest in tree Honey bee • A suitable underground area for nesting produced food cavities. (e.g. abandoned rodent burrows) • Join citizen-science efforts to The division of labor in bumble bees is • A site for overwintering (i.e. mulch and track bumble bees primarily determined by the quantity of food rotting logs) • Support bumble bee fed to a larval female by a young worker. • An abundance of wildfl owers for food conservation efforts The division of labor in honey bees is primarily from spring through fall determined by the quality of food, such as • Climate Change – These fuzzy bees are cold- royal jelly, fed to a larval female by nurse bees. Resources weather adapted and are likely affected by www.pollinator.org Bumble bees do not communicate fl oral resources long-term changes in weather patterns. to other bumble bee foragers at the nest. www.discoverlife.org • Pathogen Spillover – The use of managed Honey bees are able to communicate the bumble bees for pollination of greenhouse www.greatsunfl ower.org location of fl oral resources to other foragers at crops has lead to the spillover of disease www.xerces.org/ the nest by a complex ‘waggle dance’. from managed to wild bumble bees. bumblebees/ The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) is a collaborative body of over 140 organizations that work for the protection of pollinators across Mexico, Canada and the United States. The NAPPC Bombus Task Force produced this brochure for your use and information. Feedback is welcome. For more information please contact [email protected] or 415-362-1137 or visit www.pollinator.org..
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