Wildlife Spotting

My home: I live in small nests and do not swarm. The queen will spend her entire life in the nest. The queen bumble bee will start the nest when she is ready to lay eggs. She produces worker bees first to collect pollen.

What I eat: As an adult, I drink the nectar from flowers, or juices from fruit. I will only produce enough honey to feed the young bumblebees, which I store in honey pots.

What I look like: I am ¾ of an inch in length, have four wings, a stinger at the end of my abdomen and am usually yellow and black in color. I appear to be 'furry' compared to other bees. I am bigger than a honey bee, but I am much less aggressive and usually will only attack if I feel my life is in danger.

How I am born: Each spring the queen bee builds a nest out of wax. She already has eggs when she builds the nest. She deposits an egg in each cell and pollen for food, then seals up the cell. I hatch, go through larva and pupa stages, and develop into an adult worker bee, cutting my way out of the wax cell. This takes about 21 days.

Fun Facts: If you find yourself in the presence of a bumblebee, just stand quietly. Once it realizes you are not a flower, it will move away. A Bumble Bee will not die if it uses its stinger.