WHEN YOU STEP OUTSIDE , AN UNSEEN WORLD OF FASCINATING CREATURES SUR- ROUNDS YOU . YOUR BACKYARD IS THE HOME AND HUNTING GROUND OF OUR TINIEST AN- IMALS : INSECTS . THEY ARE EVERYWHERE , IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK — UNDER YOUR FEET , ABOVE YOUR HEAD , AND IN THE GREEN PLANTS THAT SURROUND YOU .
In the middle of April , while most of the Lowcountry landscape is green and quiet , white wild indigo ( Baptisia alba ) is the exception . Large spires of white flowers tower well above the foliage , while a cheerfully colored black-andyellow bumble bee ( Bombus ) visits its numerous blossoms . Given the time of year , she is likely a queen , having over-wintered underground and emerged ready to start her new colony .
Bumble bees have an exceptional sense of smell , about one hundred times that of a human , which guides the queen to the former home of some small , furry creature , usually a mouse , rat , or bunny . Using an established cavity for her home saves her time and energy . The nests are notoriously difficult for people to find , and she will scent mark the entryway , so she won ’ t lose her way , even in the dark .
Like most insects , bumble bees are suffering from population declines . In North America , they have decreased by a staggering forty-six percent . This drop may be linked to the increasing number of days with higher-than-average temperatures . Bumble bees do have some ability to thermoregulate — they are capable of flying in the chilly , wet weather of early spring , but they suffer in extreme heat . Research is underway to determine other reasons for their decline .
As pollinators , bumble bees are hard to beat . Adult bees primarily consume nectar but mainly feed their offspring pollen . Over twenty thousand species of flowering plants — including fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes , eggplants , and blueberries — require “ buzz ” pollination , a unique approach to gathering pollen . Bumble bees grasp plants ' poricidal anthers and vibrate their bodies at frequencies between one hundred and four hundred Hz , shaking pollen out of tiny hole openings .
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has begun a Southeast Bumble Bee Atlas , sending volunteers to find and identify the bumble bees in their local area . In South Carolina , there are fourteen different species common enough to be spotted , four of which are facing population loss . Once a volunteer catches
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