Bumblebees eat nectar for energy and pollen for protein. The best way to feed them is to plant flowers they like. If you find a tired bumblebee on the ground, offer a little sugar water made from equal parts white sugar and water. Never give it honey, which can carry bee diseases.
What Bumblebees Eat
- Nectar: a sugary liquid from flowers that fuels flight and keeps the colony warm.
- Pollen: the protein source for growing larvae and queens.
Adult bumblebees lap up nectar with a long tongue, and they carry pollen back to the nest in pollen baskets on their back legs. They do not make honey the way honey bees do, so they never store large amounts of it.
Best Plants to Grow
Bumblebees are active from early spring to autumn, so plant for the whole season. Good choices include:
- Spring: crocus, pussy willow, lungwort, dead-nettle, and fruit tree blossom.
- Summer: lavender, borage, catmint, foxglove, clover, chives and sage.
- Late summer and autumn: sedum, knapweed, asters, and sunflowers.
Pick single-flowered varieties over double ones, which hide nectar and pollen. Leave some lawn clover and dandelions for early spring food.
Rescuing a Tired Bumblebee
A bumblebee sitting still on the ground is often cold or out of energy, not dead. To help:
- Mix equal parts white granulated sugar and lukewarm water.
- Place a few drops on a spoon or bottle cap near the bee, so it can drink with its tongue.
- Let it rest and drink. Once it has fed, move it to a sheltered spot near flowers.
- If it is cold and wet, let it warm up indoors in a box for a short time before releasing it.
Do not use honey, brown sugar or artificial sweeteners. Honey from the store can contain spores and pathogens that harm bees. This rescue method is only a short-term help. A bee that does not recover should be placed among flowers and left alone.
Do Not Feed Bees These
- Honey, which can spread disease
- Fruit juice, soda or syrup with additives
- Sugar water in open feeders left out for days, since it ferments and attracts wasps
Other Ways to Help
- Provide a shallow dish of water with stones for bees to land on.
- Leave a patch of long grass, bare soil or an old rodent burrow for nesting.
- Avoid pesticides on flowering plants.
Bottom Line
Plants, not feeders, are the best bumblebee food. Offer plain sugar water only as an emergency boost. For other species see what solitary bees eat and what teddy bear bees eat.
