Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Life in a bumblebee colony: A summer tale

Life in a bumblebee colony: A summer tale

Watch a colony of bumblebees build an underground nest.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
  • © American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
    A snowflake starts as a dust grain floating in a cloud.
    How Do Snowflakes Form?
    Animated snowflake against a dark background.
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Learn about the transmission of P waves (primary waves), which alternately squeeze and stretch the transmitting medium, causing it to move back and forth in the direction of propagation.
    How P waves travel
    How P waves travel
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    The land iguana (Conolophus), a species endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
    Observe a land iguana, its burrow, and its herbivorous diet of cactus flowers, roots, and stems
    Observe a land iguana, its burrow, and its herbivorous diet of cactus flowers, roots, and stems
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Bees may be a little scary, but a world without them would be much scarier.
    Why bees are important to the environment
    Why bees are important to the environment
  • © American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
    An overview of how social wasps and bees use pheromones to communicate danger.
    How do social wasps and bees communicate danger?
    How do social wasps and bees communicate danger?
  • © American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
    Explore the chemistry of honey production.
    The fascinating chemistry behind honey production
    The fascinating chemistry behind honey production
  • © MinuteEarth (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
    A brief overview of the honey-making process and the roles played by bees.
    See an animation explaining the role of bees in the honey-making process
    See an animation explaining the role of bees in the honey-making process
Related Articles: bee , bumblebee , Nest
Honeybees are barging aside wild pollinators in hunt for pollen and nectar, study finds • Oct. 17, 2026, 3:53 PM ET (The Guardian)

Transcript

Summer in central Europe - a small colony of bumblebees is busy tending to their nest. The nest is underground within an old mousehole. Deep within the burrow, the workers are looking after the young and industriously expanding the nest. They construct new walls with wax that oozes from between their body segments.

They are supervised by their queen. She's larger than them and produces a chemical substance that keeps them under her control. It’s one of nature’s most effective and highly organized societies. By the end of summer, the colony will have dismantled. Most of the bees will die, only the young queens will overwinter to start their own colonies.
Last Modification: