Buff-Tailed Bumblebee

Bombus terrestris is the most common bumblebee in Europe and one of about 250 bumblebee species worldwide. Bumblebees have evolved several capabilities that ordinary honey bees lack. First, they thermoregulate — by 'shivering' the flight muscles in the thorax without moving the wings, they can warm their body to 30°C even when air is below 5°C. This lets them forage in early morning, late afternoon, drizzle, and conditions that ground honey bees. Second, they perform 'buzz pollination' (sonication) — landing on a flower, gripping the anthers, and vibrating their flight muscles at ~400 Hz. The vibration shakes pollen out of poricidal anthers (those that only release pollen through tiny pores), which honey bees cannot access at all. Tomatoes, blueberries, peppers, eggplants, and kiwifruit ALL require buzz pollination — and the global commercial production of these crops depends on bumblebees. Bumblebee colonies are annual: a fertilized queen overwinters alone, founds a colony in spring, raises 50-500 workers, then dies in autumn after producing new queens.