Bumblebee

What it does

Bumblebees are gentle, social pollinators that rarely sting unless their nest is directly threatened or they are handled. Unlike honey bees, they can sting more than once because their stinger is not barbed, but they seldom do. They are excellent pollinators, using 'buzz pollination' to shake pollen loose from flowers like tomatoes and blueberries.

Where it lives

They form small annual colonies, usually nesting at or below ground in abandoned rodent burrows, under sheds and decks, in compost piles, dense grass, or wall insulation. A colony is modest, often a few dozen to a few hundred bees. Bumblebees are found across the US, from gardens and meadows to mountains.

How it breeds

A single overwintered queen starts a nest in spring and rears the first workers. The colony grows through summer, then produces new queens and males in late summer. Only the newly mated queens survive winter, hibernating underground; the founding queen, workers, and males die at frost, and the nest is not reused.

What it eats

Bumblebees feed on nectar for energy and collect pollen to feed their larvae. Their long tongues and buzz-pollination let them pollinate many flowers other bees cannot, making them valuable to gardens and crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and berries.

Identification

Bumblebees are large, 3/4 to 1 inch, robust, and densely furry, with black and yellow (sometimes orange or white) bands over the whole body, including the abdomen. That all-over fuzziness separates them from the shiny-bellied carpenter bee. Their slow, bumbling flight and loud buzz are also distinctive.

Signs of an infestation

• Fuzzy black-and-yellow bees entering a hole in the ground or under a structure
• A low buzzing coming from beneath a shed, deck, or compost pile
• Bees visiting flowers with a slow, bumbling flight
• A small number of bees defending a hidden ground nest
• Bees active around insulation or a wall void gap

Prevention tips

• Seal gaps under sheds, decks, and into wall voids before spring
• Fill abandoned rodent burrows near high-traffic areas
• Keep compost piles and grass managed near patios and walkways
• Tolerate nests in out-of-the-way spots, since colonies die at frost
• Mark and route around a known ground nest rather than disturbing it

Professional solutions

Because bumblebees are beneficial and declining, the best approach is usually to leave a nest alone until it dies off naturally at frost. If a nest is in a high-traffic or hazardous spot, or someone in the home is allergic, a pest professional or a bee relocation service can move or treat it. Avoid DIY extermination of these valuable pollinators.