the.com/bumblebee
physics says it can't fly, but nobody told the bumblebee.
means A large, fuzzy, black-and-yellow bee known for its loud buzzing flight and gentle nature.
from From earlier 'humblebee,' the older English name, where 'humble' meant 'to hum or buzz' (related to that droning sound, not modesty). 'Bumble' is a variant carrying the same sense of a low, booming hum — a cousin of 'boom' and 'bumble' as in muddled, blundering motion. The shift from 'humblebee' to 'bumblebee' was gradual, and the newer form won out in popular use, helped along by Darwin's fondness for 'humblebee' going out of fashion.
- buzz pollination
- vibrates flowers to shake loose stubborn pollen
- warm-blooded-ish
- shivers muscles to heat up before flight
- electric sense
- detects flowers' electric fields with body hairs
- queen winters
- only mated queens survive the cold alone
- short tongues
- some species rob nectar by biting holes
bombus terrestris — most common bumblebee species in europe, used in commercial pollination with over 1 million colonies worldwide
bombus impatiens — native north american species, dominant pollinator in eastern us and canada greenhouses
bombus affinis — rusty patched bumblebee, listed as endangered in 2017, once common across 28 us states