A bumblebee is a social insect that collects nectar from flowers and pollinates plants. These large flying insects have a distinctive buzz and are yellow and black. Bumblebees differ in coloration, and some species have bands of red, yellow, and black. Pollen adheres to the hairs on their stocky bodies.
Bombus queen lays eggs after hibernating during the winter. A first brood usually produces between four and eight workers. As adults, these bees take over the hive’s care and collect pollen from the queen. Following this, the queen lays eggs for the rest of her life. Initially, the colony consists of only worker bees, but eventually, it includes 50 to 600 bees. Due to the large population of workers bringing in abundant food in late summer, males and new queens are produced. Unlike females, males develop from fertilized eggs laid by workers – some develop from the queen’s unfertilized eggs. A colony, including the queen, gradually dies as the queen stops laying eggs early in the fall. Moths and insects feed through this period on the remaining eggs and larvae in the nest.
Bumblebees flap their wings 200 times per second. Its metabolism is so fast that it eats almost continuously! As a result of all this activity, it naturally gets tired and falls asleep right on top of a beautiful flower with pollen all over its butt. This might be one of the cutest things ever.
