Bombus

Bumblebee Home. The latest addition to my garden. Hoping someone makes a home here!
Life History: Bumble bees are some of the most important pollinators. They are active from early spring, when queens first emerge and search for food to start their colony, until late fall. Bumble bees have the ability to buzz pollinate, or vibrate a flower at a frequency that causes pollen otherwise locked within a flower to explode onto the bee. Bees that can’t buzz pollinate are ineffective pollinators of plants that require it, such as tomatoes. Bumble bees are also generalists, meaning that they visit a number of different plant species instead of focusing on one or a few. They also have large ranges, enabling them to pollinate plants over great distances. Bumble bees are keystone species in many ecosystems—meaning that a lot of other species in these systems depend on them.