Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CII · Topic 16: Wasps and bees
102. The bumblebee
Goal: Your child can watch a bumblebee at work in flowers, describe how she collects and carries pollen, and explain why bumblebees should be protected.
You'll need
- A garden, meadow or roadside with clover or other flowers in bloom
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
Comstock's story of the bumblebee, with Emerson's lines: the foolish old war between farm boys and bumblebees, the queen who starts a nest alone in spring, the colony in an old mouse nest, and the bumblebee as the pollen carrier for clover and wild flowers. Then Lesson CII's leading thought, method and questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
May, for the big queens flying low over the ground looking for nest sites; June to September for workers in flowers. Clover, bee balm, sunflowers, squash blossoms and many garden flowers are good places to watch.
Safety first
Comstock suggests catching a bumblebee in a glass for a short look. We don't: a bumblebee can sting if trapped. Stand quietly a little way off and watch her work. Comstock also says plainly that the nest should not be disturbed:
It is not advisable to study the nest, which is not only a dangerous proceeding for the pupil, but it also means the destruction of a colony of these very useful insects.
Sting safety: watch bees and wasps from a few steps away, move slowly, and never swat at them. If anyone in the family is allergic to stings, keep well back and have their medicine with you.
Keep the big idea in mind
Comstock's "leading thought" is the one idea the lesson is meant to lead to. Read it to yourself now, and save it to share at the end, after your child has looked and answered:
The bumblebees are the chief pollen carriers for most of our wild flowers as well as for the clovers and other farm plants. They should, therefore, be kindly treated everywhere; and we should be careful not to hurt the big queen bumblebee which we see often in May.
Watch her work
In how many flowers do you find the bumblebee? Watch her closely and see how she gets the nectar. Notice how she "bumbles around" in a flower and becomes dusted with pollen.
Watch her and note how she gets the pollen off her fur and packs it in her pollen baskets. On which legs are her pollen baskets? How does the pollen look when packed in them?
Her fur coat
What is the bumblebee's covering? What is the color of her plush? Is she furry above and below?
Will a bumblebee sting a person unless she is first attacked?
The queen in spring
Have you seen the very large queen bumblebee in the spring, flying near the ground hunting for a place to build a nest?
Then read the leading thought aloud.
Nature notebook
Draw a bumblebee on a flower with her pollen baskets full, and color the pollen as you saw it. Keep a list of every flower you saw bumblebees visit.
Tip
What we know now: several kinds of bumblebees have become much rarer since Comstock's day. Planting flowers that bloom from spring to fall and avoiding garden poisons both help them.