Bumblebees are significant pollinators, crucial for wild plants and agricultural crops. A common question concerns their living arrangements: do they have “hives” like honeybees? Understanding their unique nesting habits clarifies this distinction.
Bumblebee Nest Structure
Bumblebees do not construct the elaborate, perennial structures commonly associated with honeybee hives. Instead, they create nests, which are typically smaller and less organized. These nests are often found in sheltered, pre-existing cavities, providing insulation and protection from the elements. Common nesting locations include abandoned rodent burrows, dense tussocks of grass, compost piles, under sheds, in birdhouses, or even within rock walls and hollow trees.
Inside these chosen cavities, the queen bumblebee utilizes dry grass, moss, or other plant material to form an insulating layer for her nest. The internal structure of a bumblebee nest appears less neat than a honeybee comb, consisting of wax pots used for storing nectar and pollen, and wax brood cells where larvae develop. Unlike the hexagonal precision of honeybee combs, bumblebee cells are often clustered together in a more irregular fashion. These nests are designed for temporary use, serving the colony for a single season.
Bumblebee Colony Life
The life cycle of a bumblebee colony is annual, beginning anew each spring and lasting only one season. A new, fertilized queen emerges from her winter hibernation and searches for a suitable nesting site. Once a location is established, she begins to lay eggs and raises the first generation of worker bees independently, foraging for food and incubating the brood.
As the first worker bees mature, they take over the duties of foraging for nectar and pollen, maintaining the nest, and caring for subsequent broods. The colony grows throughout the summer, reaching its peak size, which can range from approximately 50 to 500 individuals, depending on the species. In late summer or early fall, the queen begins to produce new queens and male bees. After mating, the old queen, male bees, and worker bees gradually die off as winter approaches, leaving only the newly fertilized queens to overwinter in secluded spots, ready to start new colonies the following spring.
How Bumblebees Differ From Honeybees
Bumblebees and honeybees, while both social insects, exhibit distinct differences in their social organization, nesting habits, and colony permanence. Honeybees live in large, perennial colonies numbering in the tens of thousands, maintaining hives year-round. Bumblebee colonies are much smaller, typically 50 to 500 individuals, and are annual, perishing before winter. This difference explains why bumblebees do not require permanent, elaborate structures like honeybee hives.
Another significant distinction lies in their honey production and storage. Honeybees produce and store large quantities of honey to sustain their large colonies through the winter months. Bumblebees, however, store only small amounts of nectar and pollen, just enough to sustain the colony for a few days, as their colony naturally perishes before winter.
Their social structure is also less complex than that of honeybees, with bumblebee colonies showing a more independent approach compared to the highly organized and cooperative honeybee society. Furthermore, bumblebees are generally larger, rounder, and much fuzzier than the more slender honeybees. They also differ in their stinging behavior; a bumblebee can sting multiple times, while a honeybee’s barbed stinger means it can only sting once.