Have you ever wondered if bumblebees make honey? An interesting question, isn't it? We got to the bottom of this one.
Bumblebees fly from flower to flower in spring and summer. They collect the nectar, but still there is no bumblebee honey to buy in the shops. It is interesting to ask why this is actually the case. Bumblebees do indeed produce honey, but only in very small amounts. We want to clarify why this is the case and what this Hummel honey tastes like and whether you can buy this precious commodity anywhere.
Are bumblebees bees?
A lot of people don't even know that bumblebees are very close relatives of bees. It is a type of wild bee. Bumblebees also live in a colony and among other things, bumblebees also have the task of pollinating flowers and thus ensuring that they spread. They are also able to make honey.
Do bumblebees produce honey?
Yes, bumblebees also produce honey. Compared to their relatives, the bees, however, the quantities are hardly worth mentioning. This is because they don't stock up for the winter. But that doesn't mean that the bumblebee just floats lazily from flower to flower. In fact, she is incredibly hardworking. It flies about 18 hours a day and fertilizes around 1,000 flowers.
A bee would now fly with its prey to the colony and there turn the pollen into honey. This is necessary to get through the winter and be warm and safe here. The bumblebees, on the other hand, only need the honey when the weather is bad. Therefore, they only keep a small stock.
What also makes a big difference: bumblebees only live one summer. Bees, on the other hand, hibernate. In order for the bumblebee population to be maintained, only the young queens remain alive. They sit in crevices in walls or go underground and overwinter there. As soon as it gets warmer, they set off and breed.
How does bumblebee honey taste?
Would it even be worth tasting the honey from bumblebees? If the insects were to produce larger quantities, it would certainly be worthwhile to become active here. Some biologists have the honeyalready tried. There is evidence that it tastes similar to bee honey. Above all, this shows that bumblebees produce honey just like bees.
But even if people would like to use honey in larger quantities, this is not possible. Since bumblebees only ever produce amounts for about a week for their own food and do not create large stores, humans could not even take the honey from existing stores. It is easier and much more effective if you make the honey yourself. What many people don't know is that you can make dandelion honey yourself, for example. It also tastes really good.
Support bumblebees - How it works
If you would like to support bumblebees in their search for food, you can pay attention to a few things in the garden. Bumblebees are hard-working pollinators, but of course they also need something to pollinate. They love nectar and pollen. They especially like:
- Fruit Trees
- Sun Bride
- Lilac
- Wild Plants
But they are not choosy if their favorite plants are not available. Since bumblebees start at lower temperatures than bees, they are also very happy about early bloomers and spring plants, which are then already in full bloom. With a lushly planted garden, however, you can not only attract bumblebees, but also butterflies and bees to the garden.
Alternatively, you can also lure the hard-working little animals into your garden by building a bumblebee box or integrating an insect hotel in the garden. You can also build this yourself with a little manual skill. If you want to make it easy for yourself, you can build an insect hotel out of a tree trunk, for example. Of course, you don't have to use an extra hammer and nails. You can also buy a ready-made insect hotel and hang it. The trade offers a large number of models. Here are a few examples: