Bumblebees communicate primarily via various forms of vibrations, sounds and chemical signals.Although they don't have as complex a language as honeybees, they are still capable of effective communication within their colonies, helping them find food, navigate, and other essential activities.

Communication bumblebees

  • dance : As with honeybees, bumblebees sometimes use dances to communicate information about the location of food sources to their nestmates. By performing specific movements and vibrations, they can transmit the distance, direction and quality of the food source.
  • Smell markers : Bumblebees use pheromones, chemicals secreted through glands, to transmit various messages. These pheromones can serve as navigational aids, to mark food sources or to indicate the presence of predators.
  • noises : Although bumblebees aren't known for their sounds like bees do, they can still produce sounds by moving their wings. These sounds can serve as a means of communication within the colony, but are less prominent than bees, for example.
  • Vibrations : Bumblebees can produce vibrations by rapidly contracting their muscles. These vibrations can be used to warn other bumblebees of danger, to find food sources or even to shake pollen loose from flowers (buzz-pollination).

Image of Freddy via Pixabay

Bumblebee behavior

Loading full article...