Honey bees vs Bumble bees
Compare the characteristics of Honey bees vs Bumble bees, you will see some obvious similarities. Both are members of the bee family but their life styles are different. Honey bees and bumble bees differ significantly in appearance, behavior, and the roles they play in our ecosystems. Lets take a look at these popular insects and strive to understand how they are designed just perfectly for their way of life.
As a beekeeper, I meet many folks that think honey bees and bumble bees are basically the same thing except one makes honey and the other is larger. Yes, both of these pollinator bees are insects. But, the insect world is large and diverse.
Key Differences Between Honey Bees and Bumble Bees
Before diving into the specific ways that honey bees and bumble bees are different – it is important to remember that both are important pollinators. They help many plants produce seed. Yet, each possess unique characteristics that set them apart.
- physical characteristics
- social family structure and behavior
- lifespan and reproduction
Physical Characteristics
If you place a honey bee and bumble bee side by side, can you identify the honey bee? They are similar but show some noticeable differences.
Size & Shape
The honey bee (Apis mellifera) and bumble bee (Bombus spp.) display differences in shape and body structure.
In most cases, honey bees are smaller and sleeker than bumble bees-with a less fuzzy appearance. Among the different types or races of honey bees – you will not find a lot of size variation.
While bumble bees tend to be larger, there are more than 250 bumble bee species and they come in all sizes. Yet, bumbles are rounder in shape and much fuzzier than honey bees.
Both insects have 3 segmented body parts and knee-like structures on their legs (yes – bees do have knees).
Color & Markings
Within the various races, the color of honey bees can range from light to very dark. You may or may not see bright color strips on their abdomen. A genetic trait, most honey bees we see are a mix of several races.
In addition to their very fuzzy appearance, bumble bees tend to have a distinctive black or brown color. The majority of those I see in my bee gardens have bright yellow stipes.
Wings & Flight
Another interesting difference between bumble bees and honey bees is their wing structure and flight abilities. Both insects, have 2 pair (4) transparent wings-but they are slightly different.
Bumble bees have shorter, thicker wings – in part to get that big body airborne. Their flight pattern tends to be more erratic as they buzz from flower to flower.
The wings of honey bees are thinner and more delicate. Honey bees travel several miles to food and need wings built for speed. Even when foraging, the flight of the honey bee seems smoother than a worker bumble bee.
You may not get the chance to compare the wings of bumble bee and honey bees. Who can get them to sit still long enough? However, you can see the evidence when you watch the bees in your yard.
Social Structure & Behavior
In any family, there has to be some social structure – this is true for bee families as well. Honey bees and bumble bees exhibit distinct differences in their colony size and organizational structure.
Colony Size & Organization
Honey bees live in large social colonies with thousands of members. These highly organized families consist of :queen, drones and thousands of worker bees. Each caste has a defined role in the colony.
Workers perform all colony tasks, including serving as nurse bees that rear young. Drones are necessary for honey bees to reproduce – these male bees mate with new queens.
The role of the queen bee is that of egg layer. A honey bee colony can live for many years in the same location.
In contrast, a bumble bee family is much smaller – often only a couple hundred bees. Bumble bee colonies also have a queen, workers, and males, but the division of labor is less pronounced.
A major difference between bumble bees and honey bees is the duties of the queen. Unlike the honey bee queen who is “hands off” in nest building and brood rearing – the bumble bee queen is very involved.
After starting her nest, the queen bumble bee lays eggs and is responsible for taking care of the young – until she raises some workers to take over nest duties.
Behavior – Attitude & Stingers
Neither bumble bees or honey bees are likely to sting unless they are seriously provoked. But, the females of both families have stingers – the males do not.
Due to their smooth stinger, bumble bees can sting you more than once. While a honey bee can only sting once – her barbed stinger becomes caught in your skin or clothing.
Bumble bees and the docile honey bees differ from wasps in this lack of aggression. Bumbles also live in smaller colonies reducing the likelihood of multiple stinging situations.
Lifespan and Reproduction
The lifespan of honey bees vs bumble bees shows some major differences. This is due to different social organization and reproductive structures.
Honey Bees
How long does a honey bee live? Well, the queen bee has the longest life expectancy. Queens can live up to 2-3 years or more.
Worker bees only live about 6 weeks during Summer because they work themselves to death. Late season workers – known as Fat Winter Bees can live up to 6 months.
The drones – male bees only live a few months during Summer. If they are lucky enough to mate with a queen – they die instantly (is that really lucky?). In the Fall, drones are usually cast out of the hive and left to die.
In a honey bee colony, the queen is the only reproductive female (able to mate). She flies from the hive to special drone congregation areas and mates with several drones.
Semen stored inside her body is used to fertilize bee eggs and produce more workers. Unfertilized eggs become drones.
The queen honey bee also produces special chemical messengers called bee pheromones – that unite the colony. When her performance drops – the worker bees will kill their queen and make a replacement.
Bumble Bees
Bumble bee reproduction is more seasonal that that of honey bees. In the Spring, the mated queen emerges and builds her nest and colony of workers. At the end of Summer, the colony produces new queens and drones that leave the nest and mate.
After mating the new queens will hibernate for Winter. Leaving the old queen and the rest of the nest members to die.
Swarming
Another marked difference between honey bees and bumble bees is the practice of swarming. When a honey bee colony grows large it will cast a bee swarm. About half of the population and the queen leave the hive to form a new colony elsewhere.
The home hive retains some bees and prospective new queens. Now, there are two hives instead of one – this is reproduction on the colony level.
Bumble bees are different and their colonies are smaller. They do not overwinter as a family and have no need to store food. Bumble bees do not swarm like honey bees.
Nesting Habits
Both honey bees and bumble bees build nests. In general, a honey bee home is called a hive and a bumble bee home is a nest. Bumbles often nest underground – while honey bees rarely live underground.
Honey Bee Hive
Honey bees live inside cavities such as a hollow tree or the soffit of your home? Worker honey bees make beeswax using special glands on their abdomen.
Sheets containing thousands of hexagonal wax cells are used to store food and hold developing young or bee brood.
Unless the colony dies, or absconds (bees leave the hive) – the same nest and comb can be occupied for years by the same honey bee colony.
Bumble Bee Nest
Bumble bees nest in the old burrows of rodents (usually underground). Sometimes, the queen may choose piles of ground debris or the foundation area of a house. I have found bumble bee nests in the ground and up in the eves of my barn shed.
Instead of workers, it is the queen Bumble bee that builds the nest and cares for brood initially. The nest is constructed using dry grass, stems and other plant material. You will not find beeswax in a bumble bee nest – they can not make beeswax.
Another difference between bumble bees and honey bees – the Bumble bee nest is seasonal. Unlike the honey bee hive, this nest is abandoned after one season.
Only the queen Bumble bee will live to see the next season. She hibernates under leaves and other garden debris until Spring. The other members of the colony die when cold weather arrives.
Pollination Efforts
Both types of bees are important to our environment and provide plant pollination. Honey bees aid modern agriculture and help produce crops of apples, melons and other fruits and vegetables.
They live in large colonies in hives that are portable. Perfect for migratory beekeepers who make a living providing bee pollination to farmers.
However, Bumble bees are better pollinators than honey bees for some plants. They practice “buzz pollination” and can carry more pollen due to their large size.
Due to a variety of species (sizes), they are more adaptable to flower types. Also, different length tongues etc makes them more efficient at plant pollination for a wider variety of flowers.
Bumble bees do well pollinating plants in greenhouses. Honey bees however – just want out of the greenhouse.
Honey bee or Honeybee – Bumble bee or Bumblebee
Anytime I discuss honey bees and bumble bees this question comes up. What is the proper way to write the names? Is it 1 word or 2 words?
According to entomologist (those who scientifically studies insects) both should be written as 2 words. Because, both actually members of the “bee” family – apidae. The first word describes what kind of bee they are. That makes sense right?
Conversely, a Butterfly is not a true fly. Therefore it’s name name is written as one word. Another example, a starfish is one word – it is not really a type of fish.
You will often see these names commonly used in condensed form as one word. And, that’s okay – right?
FAQs
No, honey bees and bumble bees are different species with their own behaviors and characteristics.
Neither honey bees or bumble bees are on the endangered list. However, both have suffered population decline in recent years.
Bumble bees do make honey. However, the amount of honey produced is very small and used in the nest. No honey storage is necessary because the colony does not over Winter.
Yes, female bumble bees can and do sting if seriously provoked. They are also capable of stinging more than once.
Generally, no you can not keep bumble bees in a hive like honey bees. However, they are sometimes housed in small boxes inside large greenhouses.
Honey bees use several different dances to direct foragers to food. However, bumble bees do not dance or practice this type of communication.
A Final Word
Bumble bees and honey bees are two of the most appreciated insects on the planet. We hear them revered in the common use of bee quotes related to hard work and purity. Enjoy them as you encounter them in the outdoors. But, for heavens sake don’t let your dog eat a bee while sniffing flowers in the garden.