Bumblebees

Bumblebees are considered social bees because they live in a communal nest. Each winter all the bees but the young queen dies. In the spring, she awakes from her hibernation and establishes a new nest in the ground. She gathers some food and lays a clutch of eggs in a clump which she incubates herself just like a broody hen. When hatched she gets the food for her larvae. When these develop, they become the workers, taking over the foraging and feeding. The queen then remains in the hive just laying eggs. They will now produce wax cups for the queen to lay in. The colony numbers never exceed a couple of hundred and they only gather enough honey for a few days.

Bumble Bee Species Guide

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust

The yearly life cycle of the bumblebee colony

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