Fun White-tailed Bumblebee Facts For Kids

Do you find bumblebees interesting? If so, you'll like this article as it contains information on white-tailed-bumblebees. The white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is a species of bumblebee that has a widespread geographic distribution. This bumblebee species can be hard to differentiate from the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), the northern white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus magnus), and the cryptic bumblebee (Bombus cryptarum). The white-tailed bumblebee has a lemon-yellow band, unlike buff-tailed bumblebees, who have a rusty yellow band, and a white tail. Male white-tailed bumblebees also have distinguishable yellow facial hair. These bumblebees live in colonies made up of around 200 workers. Queens collect nectar and pollen from flowers and feed their larvae the pollen and honey. The old queen dies before the arrival of the new breeding season, and the new queen emerges in her place.

Read on to learn more about the white-tailed bumblebee. If you like this article, then also check out the tawny mining bee and click beetle. 

What type of animal is a white-tailed bumblebee?

White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is a species of bee, or more specifically, a bumblebee.

What class of animal does a white-tailed bumblebee belong to?

The white-tailed bumblebee belongs to the class Insecta of animals.

How many white-tailed bumblebees are there in the world?

The exact population of these bumblebees is not known. It's pretty hard to differentiate them from their closely related species. Hence, keeping track of their population in numbers or their population trend becomes nearly impossible. However, they have been reported to be widespread and common within their habitat range. Their population fluctuates, and as a result, sometimes they even become abundant in certain areas.

Where does a white-tailed bumblebee live?

The geographic range of the white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is quite widespread. In the north, they have reached the Barents Sea. In the south, their range limit extends until the hills and the mountains, including in Greece, however, they are unable to reach the Mediterranean coasts. According to recent studies, their geographic distribution has even reached parts of northern Asia, until China.

What is a white-tailed bumblebee's habitat?

These bumblebees are able to live in all kinds of habitats. They can be seen in grasslands, coastal areas, heathlands, woodlands, gardens, parks, and more. Anywhere there are flowers, these little bees will be there.

Who do white-tailed bumblebees live with?

White-tailed bumblebees (Bombus lucorum) are social animals. They live in colonies made up of queen bees and workers.

How long does a white-tailed bumblebee live?

The exact lifespan of the white-tailed bumblebee is not known. However, in general, worker bumblebees live about 28 days on average, and queen bumblebees can live for many months.

How do they reproduce?

The queen white-tailed bumblebee is the first to emerge, around February. She forages through flowers looking for mouse holes or other underground holes left by small mammals, for the white-tailed bumblebee nest. Her workers then emerge around late March to mid May. Young daughter queens and males start to emerge from late May or June. Males then start to release pheromones to attract the Queens.

The queen then lays eggs on a layer of pollen. After hatching, the queen feeds the larvae honey and pollen. Then the larvae become pupae and go through many stages to emerge as adult worker bees. Worker bees then take care of the eggs, and both males and new queens emerge when the colony reaches its peak. These males then search for new queens to mate, and the new queens then hibernate. The old queen dies in the autumn, and the cycle continues with the newly mated queens.

What is their conservation status?

The conversation status of these bumblebees, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is listed as Least Concern. The only threat that they are facing is climate change. No conservation efforts have yet been undertaken, but they do occur in some protected areas.

What do white-tailed bumblebees look like?

The white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is a small-sized bumblebee species. These bumblebees are almost identical to the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). The Queen white-tailed bumblebee has a lemon band on the abdomen, a lemon-yellow collar, and a white tail similar to a buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), however buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) have a rusty yellow band. Workers are similar to queens, only smaller in size. Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) are very similar to white-tailed bumblebee workers, so it becomes quite impossible to differentiate them. The males have distinguishable yellow hair tufts on the top of their heads and yellow facial hair. They lack pollen baskets that females have.

How cute are they?

These bumblebees are quite adorable. However, they can be pretty aggressive at times, so don't be fooled by their looks.

How do they communicate?

Bumblebees don't dance to each other like other species of bees. Rather, they understand each other by the vibration created by their wings and by the pheromones they secrete.

How big is a white-tailed bumblebee?

The queen white-tailed bumblebee size is about 0.7-0.8 in (1.7-2 cm) in length. A worker is about 0.4-0.7 in (1-1.7 cm) in length, while a male is about 0.5-0.6 in (1.2-1.5 cm) in length. They are about the same size as Africanized bees, which are about 0.7-0.8 in (1.7-2 cm) in length.

How fast can a white-tailed bumblebee fly?

The exact speed at which a white-tailed bumblebee flies is not known. However, bumblebees, in general, have been seen to be able to fly at a speed of 33.5 mph (54 kph).

How much does a white-tailed bumblebee weigh?

The exact weight of these bumblebees is not known. However, these are small-sized insects, so we can assume that they are not too heavy.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Males and females of this species have no specific names.

What would you call a baby white-tailed bumblebee?

A baby white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is called a larva.

What do they eat?

These bumblebees have a shorter tongue compared to other bumblebees. Hence, they prefer to take nectar from flowers, like daisies, and flowers with short corollas. Owing to their short tongues, these bumblebees can be seen robbing nectar, like solitary bees, carpenter bees, or stingless trigona bees.

Are they dangerous?

These bumblebees can be aggressive. They possess the ability to sting you more than once, so admiring them from afar would be the best option.

Would they make a good pet?

It's not illegal to keep bumblebees as pets, however, keeping them would only harm them as they are social animals and live in colonies. Each bumblebee has a specific role to play in the colonies, and that's how they survive.

Did you know...

The white-tailed bumblebee makes honey, like other honey bees, but they don't make enough to survive the winter.

How many species of bumblebees are there?

There are more than 255 species of bumblebees in the world. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and geographic distributions. They can be found all around the world.

Do white-tailed bumblebees sting?

Yes, white-tailed bumblebees (Bombus lucorum) sting. In fact, we suggest that you beware of the white-tailed bumblebee sting. These bees don't die after they sting you like other species of bees, so they might come back to sting you for a second time.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more related content, check out these water beetle facts and stag beetle facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable hide beetle coloring pages.