Why Bumble Bees Are the Fuzzy Heroes We Need

If the insect world has a fuzzy, charismatic cutie, it’s surely the humble bumble bee. While insect populations are declining around the globe, bumble bees face unique threats that make them particularly vulnerable. Surveying projects across the U.S. are combining the forces of researchers and community scientists to help protect these critical native pollinators.

Our host and museum curator, Jessica Ware, Ph.D. dives inside the hive to explore why honey bees aren’t the coolest pollinator in town. And Hillary Sardiñas, the pollinator coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife shows us how to net a queen bumble bee and explains how you can get involved in the mission to save imperiled insects! The series is produced for PBS by the American Museum of Natural History.

Image: © Oregon Zoo / photo by Michael Durham

#Bumblebees #InsectDecline #SaveTheBees

*****
*****

And keep up with PBS Terra on:

[BanFamilyVlogging]

I grew up in SD, & I saw more bumblebees than I did honeybees. I wish I’d appreciated them more back then 💔

[biblebasher]

Last summer, my work shed that had all my tools and equipment in it was colonized by bumblebees.
It was kind of funny, because at first, i was unaware and kept hearing a funny noise everytime i bumped a specific spot, that i couldnt find.
Only sometimes would i hear this noise.
Day after day i was just like, "what is that?"
When i finally realized it was bees, i then had to locate them.
I could see them coming in, but had no idea where they were going.
So i started bumping into things to listen for that strange sound again.
I was so pleased to finally be invaded by bees rather than yellowjackets that i immediately Loved them.
I was still afraid of them, and wanted them out, and finally located them in a cardboard boxthat had a dovetail device in it.
So i waited for the right time, 2am, to gently grab the box as it vibrated and buzzed and quickly took it to a nice cool spot in a different unused chicken coop.
They were my little bumble budees

[GranRey-]

I used to have a patio garden at my last apartment, I would take pictures of all the different pollinators I had visit. Bumblebees were one of my favourite! They were the earliest, most frequent visitors. I even set up a bird bath with a shallow end so they could rehydrate on warm summer days.

[freddyP]

I used to study Bumblebees and im always shouting about how we prioritize non native bees! Glad PBS Terra is amplifying the need to help our Bumblebee allies! One thing thats also super important is alot of our native flowers have a buzz lock and can only bee pollinated when bumblebees buzz at the specific frequency they need!

EDIT: I just got to you all bringing up Buzz Polination the best thing about Bombus!

[wintermath]

The state of Virginia just made the (European) honey bee its official state pollinator. Better than nothing, but I did write my legislator asking them to go for a native bumblebee instead.

[septanine]

it's especially important that we start and continue to support native bees as environmental conditions change. hopefully we can rally support for insects like beetles, and dragonflies too, even if they are a little freeky lookin'

[FlatTireForHire]

A few years ago, I was observing a variety of bees and wasps on my compost pile, when I noticed the bumble bees acting a bit like bouncers. At one point, a yellow jacket started harassing a smaller bee which might have been a mason bee, and a bumble bee suddenly swooped in to tackle the yellow jacket, taking it all the way down to the ground beside the pile in a rolling tumble. It confronted the yellow jacket a couple more times as it tried to attack the smaller bee again, and then once the yellow jacket backed off, the bumble bee went back to its own foraging. Once I saw that, I paid more attention and saw other bumble bees also pushing yellow jackets away from smaller bees.

The last time I was stung by a bee, it was a bumble bee that I didn’t notice in the violets I was transferring into a container. It was the tiniest, shallowest little prick against my palm, followed by a buzzing lecture. I apologized.

[maxmoughal]

Bees: Im endangered please help me
Government: Sorry the law says you're not covered
Bees: Does it help that im technically a fish?
Government: Yes sir we'll get right on it!

[jacobv]

Never knew how diverse bumblebees are! Hopefully we can help get their population numbers back up.

[beverlyness]

That's so cute that they 'play'. Thanks for this valuable video filled with extremely necessary information. I love this channel.

[CorbiniteVids]

I'm so glad they pointed out that we've been wasting our conservationism on honeybees just because they're the bee species that makes us money. Finally i have a video to pull up when someone suggests keeping backyard hives as a solution to "save the bees"

[leongliyang]

when i was young i met a very cute fluffy black and yellow bee.
it fly and i walk, we accidentally bumped on each other.
it flied and bang on my glassess.

so we stop and stare for a moment
is like telling sorry

i never had closed up with bee in my whole life
is so cute and fluffy

never forget that ever

[WillowGardener]

I recently bought an acre of land and seeded it with native flowers! I so hope I get some bumblestumblebees

[TheTimeMachine]

Almost all the flowers shown in this video are flowers I grow. Tithonia, Monarda, Salvia Farinacea, Echinacea, Asclepias, Vaccinium. Other fantastic natives, specifically with blue/purple flowers, include New England Aster, American Wisteria, certain Spiderwort species, and Vernonia Gigantea.

[cassie]

This year I found two bumblebee nests in the ground in my yard. My significant other immediately suggested we move them or kill them, but I vehemently objected. They've pretty much single handedly pollinated our raspberries and other plants. And now my S/O has come around to keeping the nests whenever we find them. They're so cute!

[stephenbrand]

I feel like almost every time I think I see a bumble bee these days, it's actually a carpenter bee.

[LuthienNightwolf]

If you have a yard, leave some dandelions, clover and anything else that blooms in early spring for the bees. It’s the first food they have access to when they’re waking up after the long winter. Plus, a lot of these plants can be beneficial to humans too.
I currently have a yard full of dandelions and a giant clover patch and I’ve been seeing a few bees and lots of little yellow butterflies.

[Emiliapocalypse]

Found a big bumblegal bumping on my dining room window and held out a card and she walked right onto it. Carried her onto some flower boxes and she grabbed onto those flowers for dear life and walked around and around like she was starving! Sticking her proboscis in every flower, covering her head in a pollen hat. Poor girl must have been exhausted and badly needed to refuel. At one point the heavy little thing was holding onto a very small pansy which dropped under her weight so I supported the flower petal beneath her. When she was done, she just crawled onto my fingertip, so I gave her a ride from flower to flower for a bit until she had enough energy to fly and go on her way. Lucky I found her on the window in time. The feeling of her gently holding my fingertip made my heart feel fuzzy just like a bumblebee. Amazing little creatures they are! ❤

[tsbrownie]

You have not lived until you have experienced the buzzy little hummel bee happily buzzing a little tune while at work in a flower. Pure joy. (And they are sting-less.)

[whatwherewho]

I love it when she stops mid sentence because she saw a bumble bee! She was like "omg I was JUST talking about youuu!"