Plight of the Bumblebee Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bombus

The bumblebee belongs to the Apinae subfamily and the genus Bombus. Other members of the Apinae subfamily include honey bees, stingless bees and orchid bees.

Answer: no

The bumblebee is the only genus in the tribe Bombini in existence. There are a few extinct genera like the Calyptapis, which were similar to bumblebees, seen in fossils.

Answer: Over 250

There are over 250 known species of bumblebees. These species are primarily found in higher latitudes or at higher altitude in the Northern Hemisphere. There are some species found in South America, Europe, New Zealand and Tasmania.

Answer: colony

Bumblebees are social insects which form colonies. A colony consists of a single queen bumblebee and approximately fifty bumblebees living together.

Answer: female

Female bumblebees, usually the queen or worker bumblebees, can sting other animals. A bumblebee's stinger structure allows the bumblebee to repeatedly sting an opponent without injuring itself. In general, bumblebees tend to ignore humans and other animals unless disturbed.

Answer: no

Honey bees are known for their specialized dances to communicate with each other. One dance, known the waggle dance, is used recruit other bees to the precise location of the food source.

Bumblebees are not capable of communicating this type of detailed information. Instead, the bumblebees receive information about the tasks requested by the queen bumblebee from their nest.

Answer: buzz pollination

Bumblebees use a pollination technique known as sonication or buzz pollination. A bumblebee is able to to take hold of a flower and move its flight muscles rapidly. This action, termed sonication or buzz pollination, causes the flower to vibrate and dislodge extra pollen. This technique allows bumblebees to collect more pollen than other insects.

Answer: autumn

A young bumblebee queen, known as a gyne, mates with a bumblebee male, known as a drone, in the autumn. In the winter, bumblebees diapause in a shelter. In the spring, the queen bee builds a wax cell to dispatch her eggs and allow them to hatch.

Answer: A bumblebee vibrates its flight muscles to make a buzz

The buzzing sound made by a bumblebee is the result of the bumblebee vibrating its flight muscles. This feat can be achieved while the muscles are decoupled from the wings. One common misconception is that the buzzing sound of bees is caused by the beating of their wings.

Answer: cuckoo bumblebees

Cuckoo bumblebees are are members of the bumblebee Bombus genus and the subgenus Psithyrus. Cuckoo bumblebees have lost the worker bumblebees during evolution. A female cuckoo bumblebee will invade another bumblebee colony, replace the queen bumblebee, enslave the worker bumblebees and live off the resources of the colony.