Busy bumblebees

Foraging “flying barrels” work incredibly hard

WITHOUT NECTAR TOP-UPS, A FLYING BUMBLEBEE WOULD CONK OUT IN JUST 40 MINUTES.”

Shakespeare and Darwin called them “humblebees”. Whatever the origins of this quaint name, bumblebees have long unfairly played second fiddle to their honey-producing relatives. “Furry-bodied flying barrels” is the affectionate description favoured by expert Richard Comont in his recent book Bumblebees (Bloomsbury). Debunking the myth that these plump insects ought not to be capable of flight, he adds: “They’re not graceful… but they’re definitely airborne.”

The myth arose because of a physicist’s mistaken assumption that bumblebees flap their wings only up and down; in fact, their motion is more like that of a helicopter. It is true, though, that our most teddybear-like bees must work incredibly hard to get into the air. Their muscle-packed thorax powers 200 wingbeats a second, heating up to 30–40°C in the process. Nectar, which is at least 30 per cent sugar, provides the fuel (larvae in the nest are fed mainly on pollen). Foraging bumblebees visit more flowers per minute than honeybees, and carry heavier loads too, so are highly effective pollinators. Tomato and soft fruit crops depend on them. This May, World Bee Day is an opportune moment to give thanks for our humble, hairy, hardworking friends. GET INVOLVED For more details of World Bee Day (20 May), visit www.worldbeeday.org/en