Creature Feature – Please Bee Kind

Late summer and fall are a critical time period for bees. Colonies are at their peak population, meaning there are more bees foraging and defending their hives than at any other time of the year. 

Bumble bees are perhaps our most recognizable bee. Of the numerous species occurring in the United States, the most ubiquitous is the aptly named Common Eastern Bumble Bee — that familiar fuzzy-wuzzy with the all-black head, yellow middle, and black rear end. Common Bumble Bees can be very small (workers), fairly large (queens), or somewhere in between (drones). Their populations peak in September, and individuals can be observed actively foraging for nectar and pollen through October and even into November. 

Unlike honey bees that overwinter in a community hive or tree cavity, bumble bee workers die in late fall. Only mated queens will overwinter; and in late autumn they seek sheltered, subterranean places to hibernate, such as nooks beneath rocks and under fallen leaves. You can help support queen bees by resisting the urge to cut back spent flower stalks or disturb the soil by raking leaves. Consider these “messy” areas royal chambers, because bumble bee queens—while adapted to withstand the cold — rely on suitable habitat to survive through winter. So this fall, please “bee kind!”

Article & photo by Margie Manthey