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A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera (e.g., Calyptapis) are known from fossils.
[4] [10] The bees can eat the raw materials like pollen and nectar of the flowers but most bees in the colony eat honey that is made using the raw materials since it has higher nutritional value. To create honey, the bees consume the pollen and the nectar, and then regurgitate them, mixing them with enzymes in their stomachs. [5]
Several fly species are Batesian mimics of bumble bees, including robber flies, flower flies, deer bot flies, and bee flies. Some species of beetles, moths, sawflies and even other bees will mimic bumble bees. Additionally, the bumble flower beetle does not mimic the bumble bee's coloration but its buzzing flight sound. [8]
Furthermore, bumble bees are predated on by birds for food. Foragers are frequently predated by invertebrates. Crab spiders and cryptically colored ambush bugs ambush bees at flowers to catch them. Robber flies resemble bumble bees and clasp the bumble bees, insert them with enzymes, then eat their internal organs.
A bumblebee nest differs in size and structure from that of a honeybee. Bumblebee nests are smaller and contain far fewer individuals which is mostly due to differences in the method of colony reproduction. [1] Honeybee colonies can contain up to 50,000 individuals, whereas bumblebee colonies usually only contain a few hundred. [1]
Honey bees, bumblebees, solitary bees: fruit 4-essential 1-3 temperate Tangerine: Citrus tangerina: Honey bees, bumblebees: fruit 1-little sub-tropical Orange, grapefruit, tangelo: Citrus spp. Honey bees, bumblebees: fruit 1-little sub-tropical Coconut: Cocos nucifera: Honey bees, stingless bees: nut 2-modest tropical Coffee Coffea spp.
Nectar robbers vary greatly in species diversity and include species of carpenter bees, bumblebees, stingless Trigona bees, solitary bees, wasps, ants, hummingbirds, and some passerine birds, including flowerpiercers. [1] Nectar-robbing mammals include the fruit bat [2] and Swinhoe's striped squirrel, which rob nectar from the ginger plant. [3]
Because they do not depend on any one flower type, they are considered to be excellent pollinators. bumble bees are also able to fly in cooler temperatures and lower flight levels than many other bees. [9] Additionally, bumble bees perform "buzz pollination". This behavior is displayed when a bumble bee grabs the pollen-producing structure of ...