Buzz, Rumble Goes the Bumble
The Great Outdoors | June 1, 2018
By Ann Bradley, Assistant Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Buzz, rumble, buzz!
Check me out buzzing swiftly from bud to bud looking for tasty treats. Look at my fuzzy black body, yellow back, and rust-colored patch between my wings and black abdomen. For that rust-colored patch scientists named us “rusty patched bumble bee” or Bumbus (bee) affinis (related). Did you know bumble bees existed on this planet for a very, very long time? The oldest bumble bee fossil found dates back to 80 million years ago. That is 15 million years before dinosaurs became extinct!
Pollination
We pollinate plants by taking pollen from one flower to another on our fuzzy covered bodies. After locating a nice flower, I buzz my way to it and then rumble my body to shake the pollen off the flower’s anthers (where pollen sacs develop). Once I have it, I store it in my corbicula (pollen sac) on my legs. Next, using my proboscis (extendible tongue), I suck up the nectar from inside the flower. At the end of my shift, I follow the scent “foot prints” my sisters left on plants on their way back to our hive, which may be more than a mile away.
Hives
We often build our hives underground in abandoned rodent burrows. We may also choose tall grass bunches. In the hive my sisters work together to store the collected nectar and pollen in combs for those rainy days. We leave honey making to our smaller cousins, the honey bees. We feed on the gathered food for only the spring and summer. When fall arrives, we all die except the recently hatched queen.
Our Queen
The queen leaves the hive to find a place to hibernate for the winter in undisturbed soil. In spring the queen starts gathering pollen and nectar and then lays eggs to start a new colony. A colony of bees consists of female worker bees, larvae (babies), pupae (juveniles) a queen and a few drones (males). The males mate with the queen in late summer and that’s their only job.
YOU Can Help
Bumble bees and bees (especially the rusty patched bumble bee), numbers are declining worldwide. Contributing factors include climate change, habitat loss, chemical fertilizer, pesticides use, and deadly diseases.
Help us by first not killing us! Yes, we sting but only in self-defense. You can also help by growing some native flowers around your yard, reducing or eliminating chemical use like fertilizers or pesticides, and leaving a long patch of grass on your property for our hives. If you find one of our hives, just let us bee! (Get it?).
We Help You
What did you eat today? One in three forkfuls of food comes from plants requiring visits from pollinators like us bumble bees. Just think, without us pollinators, there would be no oranges or apples for your juice, strawberries or blueberries for your jam, or any beautiful flowers for your table. You NEED us for healthy ecosystems and human food supplies.
Listen for our rumble buzz this spring and summer – but please, do not harm us. The next time you enjoy a sweet-smelling flower or a juicy apple remember us as your fuzzy friends!
