AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 • NEBRASKAland 27
pollen or rear their own brood. Instead,
a queen cuckoo bumblebee enters the
nest of another bumblebee species and
either kills or subdues the queen. Then,
she forces the workers of that colony
to feed her and her young. None of the
cuckoo bee offspring become workers.
Instead, when those offspring leave
the nest, they mate, and the females
go find other nests to usurp. Some
cuckoo bees target a wide range of
bumblebee species, but others, like the
variable cuckoo bee, which appears to
focus on the American bumblebee, are
more specialized. Because there are no
workers, cuckoo bees are rarely seen
outside the nest, making it difficult to
Above: A bumblebee sits on prairie blazing star at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center near Denton.
Below: The fuzzy bodies of bumblebees are very effective pollen collectors. This bee is accumulating
a big load of white pollen from the native thistles it has been feeding on.
