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Bumblebees belong to the genus Bombus, in the family Apidae (bees). They are different from other bees because
they are large, fuzzy and carry pollen in 'pollen baskets' on their hind legs. There are approximately 250 species of
bumblebee globally and about 50 are found in North America. Bumblebees feed only on pollen and nectar and thus are not
the insects that bother you during picnics. While female bumblebees can sting, they are quite docile and will only sting
if their colony is disturbed or they are cornered. Bumblebees are eusocial insects. Queen bumblebees emerge in
the spring and forage before starting to lay eggs in a nest (usually underground). When worker bees hatch,
they take over the foraging and taking care of the nest so the queen can focus on producing more eggs. Towards the end
of the colony cycle the colony starts producing males and new queens which leave the colony and mate. The mated
new queens go into hibernation for the winter, while the males, workers and old queens perish. There are a few species
of bumblebees which are 'social parasites'. This means that instead of producing workers, the queen goes into the nest
of another species and takes over. In that nest she produces males and queens of the next generation with the help of
the another queen's workers. Bumblebees are extremely important foragers. Unlike honeybees, they are able to forage
under cold, rainy and cloudy conditions. This makes them excellent pollinators of native plants and a variety of crops.
Some crops which bumblebees can pollinate include tomatoes, peppers, raspberry, blueberry, kiwi, cashew, chives, cucumbers,
apples, strawberries, alfalfa, some citrus, melons, squashes, blackberries, soybeans, sunflower, cotton, flax, beans, cherries,
apricots, plums, almonds, nectarines, peaches, rosehips, eggplants, and cranberries.
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