All information about the impressive beneficial organism

the essentials in brief

• Meadow bumblebees are cultural followers that colonize a variety of habitats. The small bumblebee species nests near the ground.
• Young queens overwinter and found a new state in the spring. Workers hatch after just seven weeks, while drones are produced in summer. The bumblebee population is short-lived.
• The species can sting, but is not considered to be aggressive. Usually a sting heals on its own. For allergy sufferers, a Bumblebee sting cause severe symptoms.
• Meadow bumblebees accept self-made bumblebee houses in suitable surroundings. They don't specialize in food crops.

Who is behind the meadow bumblebee?

the Meadow bumblebee prefers, as its name suggests, open meadows

The meadow bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is considered a cultural follower and is widespread in gardens. She prefers open landscapes and likes to colonize meadows of all kinds but also open forests. This means that the species, which is also known as the "small wood bumblebee", is one of the so-called ubiquists. With a body length of 14 millimeters, it is one of the smaller bumblebee species.

Meadow bumblebees occur here:

• from plains to alpine locations at an altitude of 2,300 meters
• in the open field, in meadows Embankments and on pastures
• preferably in shrubs, bushes and hedges

background

The life of the ubiquists

A year in the life of the meadow bumblebee

The life of a meadow bumblebee is not very long. Queens hibernate once before they independently found their own state with their daughters. Workers and drones take on important tasks among the people, but only live for a few weeks.

Life expectancy of meadow bumblebees:

• queen: twelve to 13 months
• Worker: about six weeks
• male: up to five weeks

after winter

From March onwards, the young queens leave their wintering quarters to find a suitable place to build their nests. Dense undergrowth, grass clumps or hedges provide optimal conditions. Abandoned bird nests or Squirrel scoop are accepted just as gladly as undisturbed roof trusses. Meadow bumblebees build their nests above ground. They are seldom built underground in old mouse nests. Bumblebee nesting aids are gladly accepted. Depending on the weather, the search for nesting sites can be delayed until the end of April.

The nest of a meadow bumblebee:

• small and compact
• is composed of many bubble-like brood chambers
• yellowish in color, browned over time

Between spring and summer

After successfully building a nest, the young queen lays eggs in order to hatch them. She sits down on her clutch and generates heat through muscle vibrations. It takes about seven weeks for the first workers to hatch. It is now her job to hatch the eggs laid by the queen and to feed the larvae. The workers mostly fly between late March to August. New young queens and drones are produced between the end of May and the beginning of June or partially until the end of July.

Meadow bumblebees are "Pollenstorer":

• collect pollen and deposit it in abandoned brood cells
• Next door, new brood cells are created in which larvae grow
• Larval cradles are opened again and again for feeding

Traditional plants

Meadow bumblebees have a short trunk and are dependent on plants with short crown tubes or freely accessible pollen and nectar stores. They are not food specialists and fly at plants from different families. So far, more than 130 plant species have been described as a food source for meadow bumblebees. These include countless herbaceous plants but also some shrubs, woody plants and trees such as currants or chestnuts.

Important pollinators

Meadow bumblebees are important pollinators

Meadow bumblebees take on important pollinator functions and are mainly useful on rose plants such as cherries, apples and blackberries. Often nectar robbery occurs when the food is hidden too deep in the canopy. the Bumblebees eat holes in the flowers of Larkspur, Toadflax, comfrey or domestic orchids and thus avoid pollination.

The end of summer

A meadow bumblebee colony can contain between 50 and 120 animals and is extremely short-lived. It slowly dies out between July and August. After the males have mated with a young queen, they too die. Only the young queens are still active, because they start looking for suitable winter quarters in late summer.

Can meadow bumblebees sting?

Bumblebees rarely sting when they feel threatened. Unlike bees, their sting does not have barbs. After a sting, the bumblebee can pull it out of the skin without it getting stuck and tearing off. Their poison is not dangerous to most people. A sting can cause a swollen, itchy reddening that usually goes away on its own. Allergy sufferers can experience severe reactions.

The warning behavior of a bumblebee:

1. raise your middle leg and point towards the danger
2. turn on their backs and direct the sting apparatus at the attacker
3. let out a loud hum
4. if there is no retreat, an attack occurs

Build a bumblebee house

Bumblebees also feel at home in abandoned bird houses

To build a nesting aid, you need a cardboard box that is placed in a wooden box. This simulates an abandoned bird or squirrel nest. Since meadow bumblebees are one of the smaller species, the entire bumblebee house doesn't have to be too big. It is important that there is a distance of about one centimeter between the box and the wooden box. To ensure this thermal insulation, the bottom of the wooden box is covered with a Styrofoam plate(€ 47.69 at Amazon *) lined, on which the box is placed in the middle.

Prepare the interior

You can let off steam while lining the interior and combine different materials. Also moss, dried Lavender flowers or the fruits of Clematis are ideal for providing a warming nest for the bumblebees. Pet owners can reuse dog or cat hair. The carton should not be overfilled with nesting material. Loose draping is sufficient.

Interior design:

• Guide the inlet hose through the box in the lower third
• Access should lead down into the nest and protrude two to four centimeters into the box
• Fill fine wood chips, grass clippings, bark mulch or straw between the cardboard box and wooden box up to the hose
• Dig a recess in the middle and line the cardboard box with bird feathers or wool
• Close the box and pierce the ventilation holes

frequently asked Questions

At what temperatures do meadow bumblebees fly?

Wintering young queens become active in March. After they have established their nest, they can fly out even when the temperature is low around freezing point. Even snowfall does not prevent the insects from foraging for food. They generate body heat through the vibrations of the wing muscles. The workers that hatch later are active at a minimum temperature of five degrees. They fly out early in the morning before the sun rises and end their collective flights at dusk.

How can I support the meadow bumblebee?

Meadow bumblebees are most at risk in spring, when no suitable food sources are available. Planting early flowering species that do not mind light frosts is therefore an ideal support measure. Willows, crocuses, and early rhododendrons are good sources of nectar. In late spring, the corn or honey berries are ideal sources of food, because their flowers are very nectar-rich and can withstand frosts down to minus seven degrees.

Are bumblebee nest boxes suitable for the meadow bumblebee?

Artificially created nesting facilities are gladly accepted. However, the nests should look as natural as possible. Place the bumblebee house in an undisturbed spot on the ground. Meadow bumblebees look for protected areas in hedges, between tufts of grass or in the moss. Decorate your nesting aid with moss, pieces of bark or stones.

Ideally, there should be enough forage plants in the immediate vicinity so that the queen can collect enough pollen and nectar for her new colony. As so-called door-to-door collectors or short-haul fliers, Meadow bumblebees do not swarm very far in search of food. They fly towards plants that grow at a distance of 50 to 100 meters from the nest.

How do I recognize a meadow bumblebee?

The thorax just behind the head has a yellow cross band, which may be missing in some color variations. This allows the meadow bumblebee to use a Earth bumblebee be confused, which is, however, much larger. Meadow bumblebees are between 14 and 17 millimeters long. The top of the rear segment is colored orange. The yellow and shaggy-looking hair, which almost completely displaces the black hair, is typical of males