Bees In Winter

 

Unlike other insects in the winter, honeybees don’t hibernate. Instead, they cluster together in a ball, staying awake all winter inside their hive eating honey while “shivering” their flight muscles to keep warm. Native bees' parents don’t survive long enough to overwinter, but the brood cells of larvae metamorphose into adults before winter arrives. The food supply left for them is enough to keep them fed until they hatch as adults in the spring to reproduce again.

Number Four Fact - Bumblebees Aren't Always Yellow And Black!

The No. 4 fact that most people don’t know about bumblebees is that not all of them are just yellow and black. Some bumbles have orange and black stripes, whereas others have white stripes in addition to yellow and black ones. Bumblebees are always fuzzy, so it is easy not to confuse them with carpenter bees that are smooth and shiny. You can see the difference between the two types of bees in the photo above; the shiny black carpenter bee is flying on the right and the fuzzy, striped bumblebee is drinking nectar from a flower on the left.

What's The Buzz? How Bumblebees Pollinate Plants

Bumblebees have a special technique for pollinating flowers.  Number three of one of the ten things that you probably don’t know about bumblebees is that they grab the pollen-producing part of the plant with their jaws while their vibrating wings loosen the trapped pollen. Bumbles are able to perform this task called “buzz pollination” because their wings beat over 130 times per second!

A Talented Illustrator

 I’d like to thank my illustrator, Jonathan Woodward, for his wonderful and whimsical insect illustrations. My book, “Can You See If I’m A Bee?”, couldn’t have won the SF Book Festival award without him. Check out his website to view all of his other captivating illustrations; he also sells books, puzzles, and beautiful calendars at jonathanwoodwardstudio.com.

Book Award

My book, “Can You See If I’m A Bee?”, won the runner-up award for the best children’s picture book in the San Francisco Book Festival Contest. I am honored to win this award, as thousands of authors compete for it. I’m thankful that organizations like this exist as it gives authors the opportunity to get recognition for their hard work. It is nice to know that the judges recognized that bees are endangered and that there needs to be more publicity and education regarding this disturbing fact.

Bumble Bees Are Highly Efficient Pollinators

 

Number two of the ten things that you probably don’t know about bumblebees is that they are native to the United States. They are also more efficient at pollinating flowers than honeybees. Having larger bodies allows them to carry much heavier loads of pollen. Even though they seem to fly much more slowly than their honeybee relatives, they can move more quickly from plant to plant and transfer greater loads of pollen to the flowers that they visit.

The Friendly Bumblebee

 

Today I’m going to start with one of the ten things you probably don’t know about bumblebees: They are fuzzy, friendly bees!

Until about 1910, bumble bees were known as “humble bees”.  I wonder if their original name came from the fact that bumble bees are the gentlest of bees? Generally, they are very docile and don’t form swarms like honeybees. Besides, only female bumble bees have stingers and, because they are so good-natured, it is difficult to make one angry enough to sting you.

To test this theory out, I gently touched a bumble bee while she was hovering and busy pollinating flowers in my garden. (I don’t recommend that anyone allergic to bee stings try this!)  A light touch didn’t seem to threaten or make her angry, which goes to show how amiable bumble bees are towards humans. However, I wouldn’t do this near her home, as she will be aggressive towards someone who is threatening her nest. More interesting information about bumblebees will be in my next blog.