| HABITAT:
Often encountered foraging at flowers. Some species choose nesting places
around people's houses. Wooden storage sheds and small barns, which may
also house small rodents, are a favourite nesting place of bumble bees.
LIFE CYCLE: Their colonies are a spectacular example of social
organization, with each member working tirelessly to protect and build the
colony.
TYPE OF DAMAGE: Bumble bees are beneficial insects, performing
unexcelled pollinating services for such crops as red clover and
blueberries. Many species, normally docile and non aggressive while foraging
on flowers, turn vicious when their nests are disturbed, chasing intruders
for many yards away from the nest.
INTERESTING FACTS: Bumble bees are common and inconspicuous insects;
yet most people have never seen the fascinating bustle of activity in the
nest of the bumble bee. Inside the nest, a colony of these social insects
may number 200 or more. Members engage in most of the activities of a
human society-gathering food, caring for offspring, constructing a home,
defending it, and regulating the environment inside it. Bumble bees have
very few natural enemies. |
