The bumblebee life cycle begins with one queen looking for food and a place to nest. She starts alone in spring, but bumblebees are social bees. Once her first daughters grow up, those workers help feed the young and gather food for the colony.
Spring in the bumblebee life cycle
A queen that mated the previous year emerges from her winter shelter. First, she needs nectar and pollen. Then she looks for a nest site. Depending on the species, an abandoned rodent burrow, a sheltered cavity or a clump of grass may offer cover. Avoid opening or disturbing a suspected nest.
For example, the yellow banded bumble bee queen makes a brood chamber, lays eggs and keeps her developing young warm. Until the workers emerge, she must also leave to collect food. Read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service account of the yellow banded bumble bee.
Summer in the bumblebee life cycle
By early summer, the queen’s first daughters have become workers. As more workers emerge, they take on foraging, care of the young and defense of the nest. While the queen continues laying eggs, workers leave and return with food. If you see bees using the same opening in the ground, give the entrance space.
Out on a flower, pollen can stick to the bee’s hairs. For example, a worker on a tomato blossom can vibrate the flower to shake pollen loose. Visit our bumblebee identification guide to learn what to watch for on blossoms.
Where does the colony go in winter?
Later in the bumblebee life cycle, the colony produces males and new queens. In most temperate bumblebees, the old colony reaches the end of its season. Newly mated queens seek sheltered places to spend winter. In spring, a surviving queen can found a colony of her own. This brings the bumblebee life cycle back to its solitary beginning.
How to help through the bumblebee life cycle
Walk your garden at the start and end of its growing season. Which flowers are available to a queen in spring? Which are still open for workers or new queens late in summer? For a practical next step, choose locally native flowers for a gap you actually see and leave some undisturbed shelter nearby. Our pollinator garden guide can help you plan.
What can you record on a garden walk?
Follow the bumblebee life cycle in a notebook. Pick one patch of flowers you can revisit every few weeks. Each time, write down the date, the flowers in bloom and what a bee does when it lands. For example, does it reach deep into a blossom or grip the petals and buzz? You can compare your notes across the season without handling a bee or disturbing a nest.