Facts about Bumblebees
- 09
Bumblebee colonies are annual, with only inseminated queens surviving winter in underground burrows to establish new nests the following spring.
- 08
Some bumblebee species like Bombus terrestris can learn and remember the locations of flowers within a 1.5-kilometer radius from their nest.
- 07
Bumblebees cannot survive in temperatures below 30 degrees Fahrenheit and must generate internal heat through muscle contractions to maintain their body temperature during cold nights.
- 06
Fuzzy bodies covered in branched hairs allow bumblebees to carry pollen loads comprising up to 40 percent of their own body weight.
- 05
Bumblebees possess color vision extending into the ultraviolet spectrum, allowing them to see patterns on flowers invisible to humans.
- 04
Queen bumblebees can lay up to 400 eggs during their lifetime, with each colony typically producing new queens and males only in late summer before the colony dies off in autumn.
- 03
Male bumblebees live only 4 to 6 weeks, dying shortly after mating, while queens can survive up to one year overwintering in hibernation.
- 02
A single bumblebee colony contains between 50 and 400 workers, making their societies considerably smaller than honeybee colonies which can exceed 60,000 individuals.
- 01
During flight, bumblebees can generate frequencies of 200 hertz through their flight muscles, allowing them to vibrate flowers and release pollen more effectively.