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Sticker of Amazonian bumble bee
Bug card No. 0059 of 4,939

Amazonian bumble bee

Bombus transversalis
Eats: Nectar and pollenBees and bumblebeesRainforests and jungles6 legs

The Amazonian bumble bee is a fuzzy bumblebee that lives in the Amazon rainforest. Most bumblebees like cooler places, but this one is happy in the hot, wet jungle. It builds its own leafy nest right on the forest floor.

Lives in
South America, in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, Peru and Ecuador
Top speed
about 16 km/h (9.9 mph)
Flying, estimate
What does it eat?
It drinks sweet nectar from flowers and collects pollen to feed the young bees back in the nest.
For real!Photo of Amazonian bumble bee
Picture by Jared Shorma. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Most bumblebees nest under the ground, but this one builds its nest on top of the ground, next to tree roots or bushes.

2

The workers cover the nest with a thick roof of twigs, leaves and roots. It stays dry inside even when the Amazon rain pours down.

3

It makes walking paths on the forest floor, a bit like ants do. Lines of five or more bees have been seen walking along them.

4

On the paths, the bees cut leaves into tiny pieces and pass them back to each other to build the roof of the nest.

5

Scientists think that on very hot days, some workers stand at the door and fan the nest with their wings to cool it down.

you asked

Most asked questions about Amazonian bumble bee

?Where does the Amazonian bumble bee live?

In the lowland rainforests of the Amazon in South America, in places like Brazil, Peru and Ecuador.

?How does it keep its nest dry?

The workers build a thick, waterproof roof of twigs, leaves and roots over the nest.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Bombus transversalis
Group
Bees and bumblebees
Family
Apidae
Classification
Insecta > Hymenoptera > Apidae
Lives on
South America

Where the facts come from

  1. Bombus transversalis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Jared Shorma. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Bees and bumblebees

Also at home here: Rainforests and jungles

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