Head to head
Honeybee vs Bumblebee
Honeybees and bumblebees are both fuzzy, social, black-and-yellow bees that pollinate flowers, and they are constantly mixed up. But they live very different lives: one builds a permanent city that stores honey by the kilo, the other a small nest that lasts a single summer.
| Honeybee | Bumblebee | |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Slimmer, less hairy, amber-and-brown banding | Rounder, very furry, bold black-and-yellow (or orange or white) bands |
| Colony size | 20,000–80,000 workers | 50–400 workers |
| Colony lifespan | Perennial, lasts for years | Annual; only new queens survive winter |
| Nest | Wax combs in a cavity or a hive | Small nest, often in an old rodent burrow |
| Honey | Stores large amounts as winter food | Stores only tiny amounts |
| Sting | Barbed; a worker dies after stinging a mammal | Smooth; can sting repeatedly, but rarely does |
| Buzz pollination | Cannot do it | Vibrates pollen out of tomato, blueberry, and potato flowers |
| Cold weather | Stays in the hive below about 13°C | Shivers to warm up; flies in cold, rain, and at dusk |
| Reproduction | Swarms; the old queen leaves with half the colony | Lone new queens hibernate and start fresh nests |
Honeybee vs Bumblebee: common questions
What is the easiest way to tell a honeybee from a bumblebee?
Size and fuzz. A bumblebee is noticeably bigger, rounder, and much furrier, with vivid black-and-yellow bands. A honeybee is smaller, slimmer, more golden-brown, and looks less hairy. If it is coming and going from a hive-style box it is a honeybee; bumblebees nest in the ground.
Do bumblebees make honey?
They make a small amount of a honey-like store to feed the colony, but nowhere near enough to harvest, and they do not keep it for winter because the colony dies off each autumn. Only honeybees produce a harvestable honey surplus.
Which one is more likely to sting me?
Neither is aggressive away from the nest, but honeybees are a little more defensive of their hive, and a honeybee sting leaves a barbed stinger that keeps pumping venom. Bumblebees very rarely sting and only if grabbed or if the nest is attacked. Male bees of both kinds cannot sting at all.