There are over 250 species of bumble bees. These plump and fuzzy bees live in small colonies of just of a few hundred bees, much smaller when compared to that of the honey bee which has thousands of bees in their respective colonies. The bumble bees tend to appear mid-August and can be found feeding throughout the day on the salvia (shown above on the stem). These bees do not make honey but collect the nectar to feed and store in their hives honeypot. Only the Queens overwinter and will start new colonies each Spring.
Looking for a book on bugs?
The 8 x 8 inch, 124-page book is printed on Mohawk Superfine ultrawhite eggshell archival, acid-free paper and comes in a custom designed 8.5 x 8.5 inch box.
If you plant it – they will come!
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Arthropods
Class: Insects
Order: Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera)
Family: Bees (Apidae)
Genus: Bombus