Bumblebee

There are more than 250 species of bumblebee that live across the world.

Bumblebees, like other bees, live in colonies, which means there are over 50 bumblebees living in the same nest. A queen is in charge of the nest and lays the eggs for the whole colony.

Bumblebees gather nectar to feed on and have long tongues (yes really!) to lap it out of plants. They store some to take it back to the nest, where there are stores of it. They also gather pollen to feed their young.

Bumblebees go from plant to plant looking for food, but while they do this, they also pollinate them. This is an important step in plant life that means plants can reproduce. Without insects like bees, plants wouldn’t reproduce enough. This is why it is very important to protect bees from pesticides.

Bumblebees were named sometime before 1530, around 500 years ago!

Bumblebee queens and workers can sting but are not very aggressive. They will usually only sting if they are defending their nest.