The shape of the bumble bee is also distinct from other bees,it is round and furry. They have black and yellow bands although some species have orange or red bands, or may be entirely black.
Bumble bees do not live in a hive, they build a nest cavity or live in tunnels in the ground made by other animals.
Bumble bees are not as aggressive as honey bees. They usually ignore people or animals unless actively provoked. They also live on nectar from flowers and produce honey but their honey production is not enough for commercial or harvesting purposes.
How bumblebees find efficient routes without a GPS
Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have tracked bumblebees for the first time to see how they select the optimal route to collect nectar from multiple flowers and return to their nest.
In a paper published in PLOS Biology today (18 September), the scientists, working with the Harmonic Radar Group at Rothamsted Research, were able to use radar tracking to show how bumblebees discover flowers, learn their location and use trial and error to find the most efficient route between flowers over large distances.
Professor Lars Chittka and Dr Mathieu Lihoreau from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and colleagues set up five artificial flowers in a 1km diameter field. Each flower was fitted with motion-triggered webcams and had landing platforms with drops of sucrose in the middle*.
