Bumblebees lifecycle begins in the spring and summer. Being social and living in a nest that is created by a queen. Bumblebees raise the queens young and help the smaller worker daughters. During winter, only the queens survive. They hibernate underground and alone. Every nest starts with a single bumblebee queen who finds a place in grass, bird boxes, mouse holes, and compost piles. She then makes wax flakes in the shape of a cup to fill with nectar and feeds from it while keeping the eggs warm and not able to visit flowers when the weather is bad. After 4-6 days the eggs hatch. The queen must keep the larvae 25-32 degrees Celsius or the off spring die. She also must leave to feed and bring back pollen and nectar. This is how some nest and queens die.

After two to three weeks, the larvae spin cocoons and shed their skins to become pupa. After a few more weeks the pupa eat their way out of cocoons and take time to dry their damp wings. The first batch all hatch as females.

Over summer the nest continues to grow producing more batches. All of the workers collect food for the larvae. The workers live for about 4-6 weeks and are replaced constantly. Once larvae is grown the males leave to mate with new queens and never return. Creating new queens is their ultimate goal. In fall the old queen and female workers die. The males have left. only the new queens survive over winter hibernating until spring when temperatures rise and flowers bloom starting the cycle over again.

Bees have a unique ability that allows them to forage for food. They see flowers in ultraviolet light. They choose the best UV absorbing flowers first. UV light is essential for their ability to find nectar. If they are deprived of UV light, the bees will lose interest in foraging and wont leave the hive until forced out by starvation. When out searching for nectar and pollen Bumblebees preform something called buzz pollination. Buzz pollination is a type of pollination in which bees use vibrations on plants with closed anthers. It is thought that bees are the only animals that use buzz vibrations for pollen collection.

With their contribution there is reproduction of crops humans depend on, plants, and genetic diversity. Bumblebees importance cannot be overstated. Without bumble bees our ecosystems would suffer and the availability of plants and food would be severely impacted. Life of ground bumble bees in an ecosystem directly affects the diversity of plant species. Their pollination services lead to increased seed production. Ground bumble bees prefer flowers with bright colors and unique shapes. As they visit these flowers they cross pollinate and it helps to create new genetic combinations in plant populations with chances for survival increased.

There are around 250 species of bumblebee in the world. Data from IUCN, shows in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, all have suffered decline in population. They suffer from multiple threats that come from habitat loss, pesticide use, and degradation to diseases.

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