Early bumblebee
The early bumblebee is a small, fluffy bumblebee with yellow bands and a red tail. It wakes up very early in spring, sometimes already in February. That is how it got its name.
How big is it?
How long is it?
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How fast is it?
Fun facts
The queen is the biggest, 15 to 17 millimetres long.
It sometimes makes its nest in an old bird nest or an empty mouse nest.
In some years it can raise two families instead of one.
The queen keeps her workers in line by being bossy, not by using smells.
Brand new workers are silvery for a short time before they get their normal colours.
Most asked questions about Early bumblebee
?Why is it called the early bumblebee?
Because it comes out in early spring, as soon as February in mild places.
?What does the early bumblebee eat?
Nectar and pollen from flowers.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Bombus pratorum
- Group
- Bees and bumblebees
- Family
- Apidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Apidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
- Also known as
- Early-nesting bumblebee
Where the facts come from
- Early bumblebee (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Ivar Leidus. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same 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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