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Do Bumblebees Tell Plants When to Flower?
Bumblebees. Got to love them. They’re little fuzzy critters that live on pollen and generally don’t sting. You pretty much have to really make them mad.
They’re actually kind of cute. But it turns out that their relationship with plants is more complex than we thought.
Bumblebees as Pollinators
Bumblebees are a pollinator species like honeybees. You’ll see both species in English hedgerows, flying from plant to plant and generally staying out of each other’s way.
They are considered important pollinators in Europe and much of the United States and are occasionally shipped.
They generally start pollinating earlier than other bees because they are more cold tolerant, despite the fact that colonies don’t overwinter (only young queens survive, in hibernation).
Like most pollinator insects, bumblebees eat pollen. So scientists were quite surprised to see them also eating leaves…
…so, what gives?