[Pollinator] Bumble bees in the news

[Ladadams at aol.com]

>From My Mother Lode News:

Bumblebees Are Primo Pollinators
Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 06:00 AM

Bumblebees greet spring with unrestrained exuberance, appearing to gleefully 
romp from one poppy blossom to the next.
 In reality, these bees are hard at work, diligently gathering pollen and 
nectar to take home to their nest. In so doing, they move pollen from one flower 
to another to help produce yet another crop of next year's flowers, seed, and 
food. Bumblebees are primo pollinators.
WHO ARE THE BUMBLEBEES? Bumblebees are large, hairy, yellow and black bees 
that boisterously buzz flowers from early spring to late fall. There are about 
240 species of Bombus worldwide with 26 native to California.
 Due to their hairiness, bumblebees look larger than they really are. Their 
hair helps gather and hold pollen during their travels from flower to flower, 
and helps warm them during cold weather. They also have the ability to shiver 
for warmth and, unlike honeybees and a number of other pollinators, can fly 
from near freezing weather to into the 90s. Further, many bumblebees have 
unusually long tongues enabling them to reach the inner parts of flowers other bees 
cannot. And, they increase crop production by buzz pollinating (sonicating) 
tomatoes, blueberries, eggplants, and some pepper blossoms.
 Unlike social honeybees that form large hives, bumblebees are semi-social. A 
single female starts a colony in the spring in an abandoned rodent hole or 
tree cavity. By season's end, the nest may contain only 50 to 250 bees. All of 
the bumblebees then die except a single fertilized female, who starts a new 
colony in the spring. Since they don't over-winter in the colony, bumblebees do 
not stockpile honey as do honeybees.
 A garden or yard can easily house a bumblebee nest, perhaps several, without 
your even knowing. Since bumblebees live in small nests, they never swarm. 
And, since they produce only small amounts of honey for their own needs, 
bumblebees have no need to protect their hives from honey thieves. Although a 
bumblebee can sting more than once, they are quite unlikely to attack humans unless 
their life is threatened. In fact the smaller male drones that hatch in 
midsummer have no sting at all.
 Don't confuse bumblebees with carpenter bees. Carpenter bees belong to the 
species Xylocopa, and resemble bumblebees in size and shape, but their abdomen 
or tail portion is usually a non-hairy shiny blue black. Carpenter bees are 
solitary bees that bore holes in wood to make nests for their young. They are 
valuable pollinators for some crops, but unlike many bumblebees, they are nectar 
thieves that cut into the side of flowers and steal nectar, often without 
pollinating.
 THE PLIGHT OF NATIVE POLLINATORS: Pollinators are crucial to our food 
supply. Without pollinators, we will lose most fruit crops, many vegetables and 
grains, even chocolate. Honeybees (non-native European bees) are our best-known 
pollinators, and their decline due to disease, mites, and “colony collapse” has 
received much press.
 Fortunately we have 1,600 species of known California bees, including 
bumblebees, plus many other native pollinating insects, bats, and birds. These 
native creatures often have greater resistance to local diseases and parasites, and 
their diversity makes it less likely that a disease would impact all.
 Even so, our native pollinators are under a siege that has been compared to 
global warming. The advent of chemical gardening and increased agriculture 
last century took a great toll. Industrialization and urbanization continue to 
reduce nesting areas and eliminate many native plants that pollinators depend 
on. And, ongoing importation of exotic (non-native) bees, including European 
bumblebees for greenhouse tomato pollination, potentially brings more new 
diseases.
 WHAT TO DO: We all have the power to help bumblebees and other pollinators 
in some way. Embrace non-chemical solutions to pest problems and eliminate 
pesticide powders and dusts, as pollinators can carry these back to the nest. 
Encourage schools, parks, golf courses, and other public entities to use fewer 
pesticides and to let ditches and hedgerows go unplowed and unsprayed to preserve 
nesting sites. Let native plants (including some weeds) grow undisturbed 
whenever possible.
 And, if you can, plant a few pollinator flowers or even a pollinator garden. 
Pollinators prefer their flowers in patches, rather than single plants, and 
need a succession of blossoms from spring through fall.
 The California Native Plant Society recommendations include California 
poppies, sunflowers, lupine, clover, California lilac, penstemon, gooseberries, 
salvias, milkweeds, and manzanita. For more flower suggestions, go to 
http://nature.Berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens. Also visit The American Pollinator Protection 
Campaign at www.nappc.org.
 A final word on bumblebees: Be sure to spend lots of time watching these 
amazing creatures. Note which flowers they frequent. Teach children to enjoy 
their antics and appreciate their contributions to our food supply. Slowly walk 
away if bees fly too close. Remember, if undisturbed, bumblebees are peaceful 
bees, very unlikely to sting.
 Sonora Master Gardener Vera Strader is an avid bumblebee watcher. Her yard 
is certified as a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat.



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