While walking through a field in southern Illinois, I noticed a bumblebee that looked different from all others that I had seen previously. The American Bumblebee is a large insect with the queen measuring almost an inch. The queen is mostly black, including the legs, spurs and the base of the wings.
Once the most prevalent bumblebee in the southern United States, populations of the American Bumblebee have decreased significantly in recent years. Overall, the population dropped nearly 90% in just the first two decades of the 21st century. These declines are most pronounced towards the northern extent of the species’ range.
Like most bumblebees, it faces threats from multiple sources, including pesticides, habitat loss or degradation, urban development, climate change, and diseases that can be introduced by non-native bee species. It is strongly suspected that the American Bumblebee was infected with a virus when European Bumblebees were imported into North America to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes.
This insect tends to live and nest in open farmland and fields, where it feeds on several food plants, favoring sunflowers and clovers, and functions as a pollinator. In order to release the pollen, they are able to grab onto the flower and move their flight muscles rapidly, causing the flower to vibrate, dislodging pollen. This process is known as “Buzz Pollination.”
Bumblebees are active under conditions during which Honeybees and other smaller bees stay at home, and can readily absorb heat from even weak sunshine. They are beneficial and effective pollinators, helping to pollinate not only wildflowers, but also crops and gardens. The easiest way to help bumblebees is to provide them with some undisturbed natural habitat.