Early Bumble Bee

Fascinating facts about the Early Bumble Bee

• The early bumblebee can be seen buzzing in gardens as soon as February, a full month before most other bumblebees take to the air. In milder parts of southern England it even appears in February, while its normal flight window runs from March to July. Remarkably, some individuals may skip hibernation and start a second colony in the same year, squeezing two full reproductive cycles out of a single summer.
• Unlike many social insects that rely on scent, the early-bumblebee queen rules her colony with fists, not pheromones. She opens her mandibles and head-butts the most dominant workers to keep them in line. This aggressive policing replaces chemical control.
• A queen early-bumblebee fits in the space of a small paperclip, measuring just 15-17 mm long, while workers are only 10-14 mm and males 11-13 mm.
• Just days after hatching, some early-bumblebee workers are already out foraging, gathering pollen while the queen stays inside to lay eggs. Meanwhile, the smaller, less winged workers stay put, tending the nest and caring for brood.
• The early bumblebee thrives across a patchwork of habitats, from open fields and city parks to scrubland and sparse forest. Its ability to nest above ground in bird or rodent nests means it can colonise both natural and human-altered landscapes.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Early Bumble Bee

As the warmth of spring awakens the landscape, the early bumble bee emerges, its furry coat glistening with dew as it embarks on a quest for nectar and pollen. With a gentle hum, it dances through the air, its erratic flight a testament to its single-minded pursuit of sustenance, as it flits from bloom to bloom, collecting the vital resources that will sustain its colony. In this fleeting moment, the early bumble bee is a master of its domain, a tiny, irrepressible dynamo that sets the stage for a summer of growth and abundance.

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