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Sticker of Hunt's bumblebee
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Hunt's bumblebee

Bombus huntii

Hunt's bumblebee is a fuzzy bumblebee from western North America. It buzzes over prairies, meadows and even deserts, visiting flowers like sunflowers, thistles and clover. It lives in a family with a queen, workers and males.

Lives in
Western Canada, the western United States and Mexico, in meadows, prairies and desert scrub
Top speed
about 16 km/h (9.9 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting
What does it eat?
It drinks nectar and collects pollen from flowers like sunflowers, thistles, clover and currants.
For real!Photo of Hunt's bumblebee
Picture by (c) Connie Misket, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It builds its nest under the ground.

2

A family lasts only one year. Only the new queens survive the winter and start new nests in spring.

3

In Mexico it lives high up, even on the tops of tall volcanoes.

4

It is very good at helping tomato plants make tomatoes.

5

Scientists have read its whole genome, the full set of instructions inside its cells.

you asked

Most asked questions about Hunt's bumblebee

?Where does Hunt's bumblebee live?

In western North America, from Canada to Mexico.

?Where does Hunt's bumblebee make its nest?

Under the ground.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Bombus huntii
Group
Bees and bumblebees
Family
Apidae
Classification
Insecta > Hymenoptera > Apidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Hunt bumblebee

Where the facts come from

  1. Bombus huntii (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 (c) Connie Misket, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 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.

More from the same group: Bees and bumblebees

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows