Bumblebees (Genus Bombus)

Size: Very Large (Worker (female) 10-20 mm; Drone (male) 13-23 mm; Queen = 17-25 mm)

(Workers get smaller and smaller as the season progresses)

{Size Comparison-the average honeybee is 13mm}

Color: Black body covered with dense yellow and black hair; (reddish hair in a few species)

Type of Flight: Slow and lumbering (without fear of humans)

Distinguishing Characteristics:

(1) Fat bee with a small head (large thorax and abdomen)

(2) Hairs cover the entire body (head, thorax, and abdomen); Hair color patterns help to determine bumblebee species

(3) Workers have morphological specializations, including the pollen basket (corbiculum) on the rear legs

Abundance in Georgia: Common 

Typically Found in Georgia: March-October (Bumblebees are some of the first bees to emerge in Spring)

Pollination Value: Very High (an important pollinator of agricultural crops)

Plants Associated with: All flowering plants (Generalist – not specific to any type of plant)

Nesting Habitat: Bumble bees nest in the ground in abandoned mammal holes. Bumble bees live in large colonies with one queen, a few drones (males), and many workers (females).

Classification: Family: Apidae         Genus: Bombus

Number of Species in Georgia: 17

Number of Species in the United States: 49

Photos taken by Sam Droege and staff at the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory (Used with permission)

–> Click on the photo to enlarge the image

Field photos taken by Mark Schlueter