By Amy-Lynn Albertson
N.C. Cooperative Extension

One of my favorite pollinators is the bumble bee. Bumble bees are the pollinator world’s cute, cuddly, awkward fellows. Due to their unique physiology that allows bumble bees to fly in conditions when other bees stay home, they are essential pollinators. Unlike other bees, they can warm themselves by vibrating their wing muscles, shivering to a point that enables them to take flight. They also have large, fuzzy bodies and can fly long distances, making them one of the primary pollinators in cold-weather climates. Across rolling grasslands and the sagebrush sea up to alpine meadows, bumble bees are hard at work providing essential pollination services to maintain the biodiversity of wild plants. There are 49 species of bumble bees native to the United States. Bumble bees are like honey bees and live socially in hives. Their hives are usually underground, particularly in abandoned holes made by rodents. Bumble bee hives typically include between 50 and 500 individuals. The queens will overwinter in a small hole and emerge in the spring to produce eggs that will be the new worker bees. Still, bumblebees do not make and store large amounts of honey like their honeybee counterparts. They make smaller amounts and use it short term to feed their larva.

Another reason bumble bees are essential pollinators is their behavior of buzzing flowers, which requires this behavior for pollination. For example, tomatoes and other flowers in that plant family don’t produce nectar, but the bees visit them anyway to collect pollen. They vibrate their wing muscles, making a buzzing noise to shake the pollen out of the anthers of the flowers. Bumble bees are generalist feeders, often the first bees active in late winter (February) and the last in fall (November). Their ability to forage on a wide range of plant species helps them support the colony. Early-season and late-season resources are critical, as these are sensitive times of the year for successful establishment and reproduction.

In North America, up to 25 percent of bumble bees are facing significant population declines. At least six bumble bee species are of conservation concern in states like Montana, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming. The Bumble Bee Atlas program, a citizen science project with the Xerces Society and Partners, is working to track and conserve the bumble bee. The Southeast region has an atlas where you can sign up to survey your yard or area for bumble bees. Go to http://bumblebeeatlas.org for more information. The need for conservation efforts for these vital pollinators is more urgent than ever, and your support is crucial in ensuring their survival. You can help protect bumble bees by planting native plants to provide more forage for bumble bees and by providing a habitat for nesting. Most bumble bees nest in hives in underground holes made by larger animals, while some nest above ground in abandoned bird nests, grass clumps or cavities such as hollow logs or spaces beneath rocks. Bumblebees may also use compost piles or unoccupied birdhouses to nest in your gardens. To protect hibernating queens in the winter, try to avoid mowing, raking or tilling your yard until April or May. To learn more about bumble bees or other pollinators, contact the Rowan County Extension Office at 704.216.8970.

Amy-Lynn Albertson is director of the Rowan County Extension.