It is said that bumblebees don't like human breath, so if you want to observe one closely then don't breathe on it. Alternatively you could wear a clever bee disguise and play your beeguitar for them.




Bumblebee queens appear to maintain dominance purely by aggressive behaviour. They are usually bigger than the workers are and the queen opens her mandibles and head-butts the most dominant worker from time to time to let them know she is still there.


Mating usually takes place while resting on the ground or on vegetation, but there have been sightings of large queens flying with small males attached to them. The time taken for matings varies widely from 10 minutes to 80 minutes.

Bumblebees have also been known to transform into cars


bumblebee.org