The Mighty Morphing Bumble Bee!!
These guys are Built Different™️ for sure. In general, the Biggest Bee around (shoutout to the Violet Carpenter Bee), these Goliath sized titans are no push over in the battle for pollen and can be on average twice the size of honeybees.
Their formidable size and strength makes them good at working with particular types of flower shapes and sizes, however they have one secret weapon that you have to listen very closely for to appreciate: their bumble buzzz ✨
Bumblebees (also known historically as "humble-bees") have a very unique and specialized buzzing ability (that honeybees do not have), specially adapted to work with their very thick and long hair system to create vibrations and an additional electrostatic effect which enables pollen to literally jump onto the bee before even making physical contact, this makes bumblebees incredibly efficient! This is called Buzz Pollination and certain plants, such as tomatoes 🍅, require this specific form of pollination and it's estimated to be required for close to 10% of all flower varieties in the world 🌼
Native to almost everywhere including the Americas, Europe and parts of Northern Africa, (notably absent from Australia), these bees are a critical component of overall pollination and are responsible for keeping us and many other things alive 💓 While we have a profound appreciation toward honeybees here, we must recognize that the Mighty Bumblebee and many other native bees are threatened in many ways that honeybees are not, and as such we must all do our part so that they can do theirs!
Click here for information about our bumblebee swarm relocation service, Call Before You Spray!
Click here for information about how you can make your garden more friendly toward native pollinators!
Click here for wildflower seeds!
The Contest
To enter, simply comment below with the "scientific" or Latin name for the category of bumblebees, specifically the genus which is a single word, and also let us know what that Latin word means in English 📖
Our local Honeybees for example are Apis mellifera where "Apis" is the genus, coming from the Latin words for "honey bearing bee" ❤️, so you would simply comment below with "Apis" and what that word means: "bee" (words can have multiple meanings, try to find the meaning you think would apply best!)
- This genus has over 250 separate species of bumblebee, one you may see around town is (genus) terricola
- Wikipedia is your friend
- The word starts with a 🐝 and sounds like the plot to the movie Speed (1994) 🚌
Enter in the box down below!
Prizes
- all contest entrants receive 50 Buzz Coins on their customer account (please include your email so we know which account is yours!)
- Don't have an account? Sign up here!
- 100 bonus coins for being first 🏆
- 50 bonus coins for entering within 24 hours of the newsletter email 🐎
- 50 bonus coins for an interesting story, anecdote or fact about bumblebees! 📖
- 30 bonus coins for entering by June 9th 👈
- One entry per family please and thank you!
2 comments
Bombus, Latin for a buzzing or humming sound. Fun fact: many native bees are solitary, and do not live in hives. Native bees are pretty docile. I found a bumblebee bopping against a window, trying to get out. I started to cup my hands around it, and it hopped on my finger. It investigated my finger until we were outside, then it flew off.
Bombus
A humming or buzzing sound
Interesting fact: There is a cuckoo bumblebee that lays eggs in other bee colonies so that the other colony will take care of the baby bees.
Also I just wanted to say that the clue you gave for the plot to Speed is the reason I’m commenting. That is funny and so clever! I really enjoy your newsletters and I read the whole thing every time. Thank you for the entertainment and the honey!