The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) is a collaborative body Bumble Bee Facts of over 140 organizations that work for the protection of pollinators across Mexico, Canada Globally, there are about 250 described species and the United States. of bumble bees. They are found primarily in the The NAPPC Bombus Task Force produced this Bumble Bees temperate zones of North and South America, and brochure for your use and information. Feedback Photo Jessica Forrest Eurasia. is welcome. For more information please contact [email protected] or are Essential Bumble bees are documented to pollinate many important food crops. They are also more effective Photo Sheila Colla 415-362-1137 or visit www.pollinator.org. Rusty-patched bumble bee, than honey bees at pollinating crops grown in Bombus affinis greenhouses. Visit When most insects are inactive due to cold Declining North www.pollinator.org temperatures bumble bees are able to fly by American Bumble Bees to see how much you can do. warming their flight muscles by shivering, enabling them to raise their body temperature as Photo David Inouye Helping Pollinators necessary for flight.

Western bumble bee, Thrive Instead of starting their own colonies, some Bombus occidentalis bumble bee species have evolved to take over another species’ colony to rear their young. These ‘cuckoo’ bees then use the workers from Photo James Strange the queen-less colony to feed and care for their offspring.

Franklin bumble bee, Some bumble bee are known to rob flowers of Bombus franklini their nectar. Nectar robbing occurs when a bee extracts nectar from a flower without coming into contact with its reproductive parts (i.e. anthers Photo Leif Richardson and/or stigma), usually by biting a hole at the base of the flower. Yellow-banded bumble bee, Bombus terricola Bumble bees are effective buzz pollinators of several economically important plants in the family Solanaceae such as tomato, bell pepper and Photo Ron Hemberger eggplant. In buzz pollination bees extract pollen NAPPC from a flower by vibrating against the flower’s anthers, making an audible buzzing noise. American bumble bee, Prepared by the Bombus pensylvanicus Bombus Task Force of the Currently, the Common Eastern bumble bee North American Pollinator Protection (Bombus impatiens) is the only species being Campaign (NAPPC) commercially reared for pollination services in North America, despite the fact that it is only native to the eastern U.S. and Canada. Bumble Bee Life Cycle larval female by a young worker. The primary function of the nest is to house The division of labor in honey bees is primarily all members of the colony, particularly determined by the quality of food, such as royal developing bees in cocoons (globular sacs in jelly, fed to a larval female by nurse bees. the picture below) laid by the queen. Empty Bumble bees do not communicate floral resources cocoons are used to store nectar and pollen to other bumble bee foragers at the nest. that are replenished by foraging bumble Honey bees are able to communicate the location bees. Below is a bumble bee nest made in the of floral resources to other foragers at the nest by a fiberglass insulation of a house in Maryland. complex ‘waggle dance’. Bumble Bees at Risk?

Recent research in Canada and the United States has shown drastic declines in some bumble bee species. In particular, four bumble bees have declined through much of their range over the past few decades—the Franklin Bumble Bee (Bombus franklini), the Rusty-patched Bumble Photo David Inouye Bee (Bombus affinis), the Western Bumble Bee

(Bombus occidentalis) and the American Bumble Photo Leah Lewis Bumble Bees vs. Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus). Researchers are Honey Bees: currently working to determine the causes of these • Pathogen Spillover – The use of managed What you can do to help declines, but some possible factors include: bumble bees for pollination of greenhouse What’s the Difference? crops has lead to the spillover of disease from protect bumble bees: Bumble bee colonies last only • Habitat Loss – Bumble bees need three types managed to wild bumble bees. one year. of habitat, all of which may be threatened • Plant pollen- and nectar-rich plants by urbanization and other forms of land • Pesticide Use – These chemicals are meant to Honey bee colonies can last in your garden alteration: affect pests but may have harmful effects on more than one year. bumble bees as they forage from treated • Provide habitat for bumble bees Photo Sheila Colla • A suitable underground area for nesting Bumble bees typically nest Bumble bee plants as well as untreated plants. (e.g. abandoned rodent burrows) underground in rodent burrows, • Buy organic and locally produced and sometimes on the ground • A site for overwintering (i.e. mulch and Resources food surface. rotting logs) www.pollinator.org • Join citizen-science efforts to track Managed honey bees nest inside • An abundance of wildflowers for food from bumble bees Photo Steve Buchmann spring through fall bee boxes; feral honey bees Honey bee www.discoverlife.org typically nest in tree cavities. • Support bumble bee conservation • Climate Change – These fuzzy bees are cold- www.greatsunflower.org The division of labor in bumble bees is primarily weather adapted and are likely affected by efforts determined by the quantity of food fed to a long-term changes in weather patterns. www.xerces.org/bumblebees/