Bombus

Bombus (“Bumblebees”) are a group of large, corpulent, globally distributed wild bees. They are one of the most easily recognizable genera. Both males and females are completely covered in dense body hair and are well known for their characteristic humming/buzzing sound. Their ocelli are arranged in the shape of an arc and several species present yellow, white, brown, or orange hair patches or bands. All bumblebees are either true social species (“eusocial bumblebees”) or social parasites ("cuckoo bumblebees"). Social species have three different castes (queens, workers, and males) that live together in colonies. Both workers and queens have hind legs with pollen baskets ("tibial corbiculae") that they use for pollen gathering and transportation. Unlike social species, cuckoo bumblebees do not start colonies and lack the well-formed pollen baskets needed for pollen harvesting. Instead, the females invade the nests of social bumbleebees and either kill or subdue the old queen to overtake the food resources and workers of the colony to raise their own offspring.