bumblebees

Most bumblebees are social insects that form colonies with a single queen. The colonies are smaller than those of honey bees, growing to as few as 50 individuals in a nest.

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Like their relatives the honeybees, bumblebees feed on nectar, using their long hairy tongues to lap up the liquid; which is folded under the head during flight. Bumblebees gather nectar to add to the stores in the nest, and pollen to feed their young. They forage using colour and spatial relationships to identify flowers to feed from. 

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Bumblebees do not exhibit the "bee dances" used by honeybees to tell other workers the locations of food sources. Instead, when they return from a successful foraging expedition, they run excitedly around in the nest for several minutes before going out to forage once more.

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Learn more about them in my Nature Facts for Kids series.