Red-tailed bumblebee

The bees warm their nest by producing heat with their flight muscles, which they use to incubate the brood.1

Cuckoo bumblebees can invade its nests by copying its chemical scent or by producing a substance that repels the workers.1

Males mark spots with scent to attract females, and these scents are often copied by cuckoo bumblebees.1

Some individuals fly as far as 1,750 metres from the nest to find food, although most forage much closer.1

Males travel much farther than workers, which may help keep the population genetically varied.1

It forages and pollinates at higher temperatures than many other bumblebee species.1