Early bumblebee

Wies bumblebee (Bombus pratorum ), drone

The Meadow (Bombus pratorum ) belongs to the genus of humble-bees.

Features

The meadow bumblebees are among the smaller species of bumblebee. The workers and drones are not larger than 14 mm and the queens 15 to 17 mm. My collar and the second abdominal segment are yellow, the upper side of the posterior segment ( tergite ) is orange. Body and collar are bristly hairy, like bumblebees usual. Color variations are possible. The first workers can be very small. Your head is short to medium in length with a trunk 8-14 mm in length.

Occurrence

Wies bumblebees come throughout Europe, except in the Iberian peninsula before. Up in the north they form but not states. They are found in open woods, meadows, parks and gardens. They are one of the Hemerophilen and ubiquitous.

Food

Their diet consists of nectar and pollen of various plants. To date, more than 130 plant species have been recorded as a food source. These include Columbine, Common Betony, motherwort, currants, chestnuts, lupine, red clover, celandine, Perilla, gooseberry, nettle.

Way of life

Wies bumblebee queens overwinter in a sheltered place in the earth and fly early in the year, usually in March, looking for a suitable nesting site. They find above ground usually in the bushes, hedges or in crevices. However, also sometimes used as a shelter an abandoned mouse nest. They build their first honeycomb itself, equip it with a mixture of nectar and pollen and lay their first eggs. From the larvae hatch, pupate after 5 to 10 days ( Holometabole insects). After metamorphosis, the first workers immediately take over the further brood care and foraging. Depending on the food supply and health, a meadow bumblebee colony has a size of 50 to 120 animals.

At the peak of the life cycle of the bumblebee people the queen produces the drones from unfertilized eggs ( parthenogenesis ) and the young queens. After their wedding flight, the drones die in the rule and the young queens crawl usually in August to establish a new state in the following year. In good years, a second generation is possible. In any case, the old queen dies in the fall with their people.

Swell

• Pareys book of insects, Michael Chinery, Verlag Paul Parey, ISBN 3490141180
• Bumblebees. determine, settle, reproduce, protect, Eberhard von Hagen, Ambros Aichhorn, ISBN 3935980280