# What Do Bumblebees Eat?

> What bumblebees eat: Herbivore (nectar and pollen), foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Meadows, gardens, farmland, and woodland edges.

- **Species:** Bumblebee (*Bombus terrestris*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Herbivore (nectar and pollen)
- **Habitat:** Meadows, gardens, farmland, and woodland edges
- **Lifespan:** Workers a few weeks; queens about a year
- **Top speed:** Up to ~24 km/h (15 mph) in flight
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/bumblebee/what-do-bumblebee-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/bumblebee/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) is a large, fuzzy, black-and-yellow bee found in meadows, gardens, and farmland. Measuring about 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.6 to 1 in) long, it flies at up to around 24 km/h (15 mph) and feeds on nectar and pollen, making it one of the most important pollinators in temperate regions. Workers live only a few weeks, while a queen can live about a year. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Appearance and identification

Bumblebees are round, robust bees covered in dense fuzzy hair, which gives them their soft appearance and helps them stay warm. The buff-tailed bumblebee is one of the largest common species, about 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.6 to 1 in) long, with bands of black and yellow and a pale buff-coloured tail on the queen. Their thick coat, called pile, also traps pollen as they visit flowers. Queens are noticeably larger than the workers and males of the colony.

## Help protect the Bumblebee

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/bumblebee/what-do-bumblebee-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.