Common Eastern Bumble Bee - queen

Description:

A queen that becomes fertilized by males in late summer overwinters, usually underground, and emerges in the spring. She will then search for a suitable nest site often at the base of shrubs or in native grasses. Once a suitable nest has been found the queen begins to build up a store of pollen. Some she will eat, the rest she will form into a ball often called bee bread. This bee bread will enable the queen to survive for a few days, in case of bad weather, without having to forage. Because it takes 4 -5 weeks from egg to adult bumblebee, most bumble bees observed in the north early in April are queens. Bombus impatiens queens are larger, have darker wings and a longer face than workers & males. Compare to: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/772... Bombus impatiens is the most often encountered bumble bee across much of eastern North America. It has an unusually long flight season and thrives across a wide range of habitats and climates ranging from the cold temperate zone to the warm subtropics. These bees are very efficient pollinators of numerous fruit & vegetable crops including tomatoes, blueberries and cucumbers.

Habitat:

Eastern North America, used for greenhouse pollination in California and Mexico. March - November. Variety of habitats including highly urbanized areas.

Notes:

Observed on Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa columbaria)