Amazonian bumble bee

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.

How fast is it?
Fun facts
Most bumblebees nest under the ground, but this one builds its nest on top of the ground, next to tree roots or bushes.
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.
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.
On the paths, the bees cut leaves into tiny pieces and pass them back to each other to build the roof of the nest.
Scientists think that on very hot days, some workers stand at the door and fan the nest with their wings to cool it down.
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
- 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.
- 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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