Webinar: Bumble Bees (Great Southeast Pollinator Course — Week Two)
Webinar Date: June 23, 2026
Speakers: Rich Hatfield (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation); Becky Griffin (UGA Extension)
Series: Great Southeast Pollinator Course
Source: Corrected SRT (Stage 1) — GTBOP_Transcript_2026-06-23_Bumblebees.srt (280 blocks); Archive Package (Stage 2) for structural reference
Audience note: Built for an engaged general and census-volunteer audience. Every term, definition, and relationship below comes only from what the two speakers said in this session. Each exercise includes one or two extra Column B options (distractors) so students cannot answer by elimination.
Three exercises are provided: one on bumble bee anatomy and function (Griffin’s half), one on bumble bee biology and conservation terms (both halves), and one matching species to a fact stated in the session.
Matching Exercise 1: Bumble Bee Anatomy and Its Function
Timestamp Reference: 46:09 – 1:08:00 (primary coverage area)
Type: Term-to-Function
Instructions: Match each anatomical part in Column A with the function Griffin described in Column B. Two options in Column B will not be used.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corbicula (pollen basket) | a) Middle body section where the wings and the legs attach | |
| 2 | Pile | b) Branched body hair that picks up an electrostatic charge and traps pollen | |
| 3 | Ocelli | c) Grappling-hook-like feet that grip plants and let the bee hang on a window screen | |
| 4 | Tarsi / tarsal claws | d) Hind-leg structure where a female packs pollen to carry back to the nest | |
| 5 | Long tongue (proboscis) | e) Chews tunnels through wood to build a nest | |
| 6 | Tergites | f) Three tiny eyes in the middle of the face that help the bee stay oriented in flight | |
| 7 | Thorax | g) Reaches nectar held deep inside tubular flowers | |
| h) Abdominal segments used as markings for bumble bee identification | |||
| i) Stores nectar as honey to feed the colony through the winter |
Answer Key:
1 → d, 2 → b, 3 → f, 4 → c, 5 → g, 6 → h, 7 → a
(Distractors not used: e — wood-tunneling is carpenter bee behavior, not bumble bee anatomy; i — bumble bees have an annual cycle and do not store honey for winter.)
Source in transcript: Anatomy overview and pollen press (blocks 165–168, ~46:09–47:30); corbicula (blocks 172–174, ~48:35); eastern bumble bee long tongue (blocks 184, 188, ~52:56–54:50); pile (blocks 197–207, ~57:31–1:00:23); tarsi and tarsal claws (blocks 218–221, ~1:04:08–1:05:25); ocelli (block 222, ~1:05:27); thorax/abdomen segments (blocks 166–167, ~46:29–47:08).
Matching Exercise 2: Bumble Bee Biology and Conservation Terms
Timestamp Reference: 9:12 – 1:21:30 (primary coverage area)
Type: Term-to-Definition
Instructions: Match each term in Column A with the definition given during the session in Column B. Two options in Column B will not be used.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hibernacula | a) Next year’s queens and the males a colony produces once it has enough workers and resources | |
| 2 | Poricidal anthers | b) Flower structures that lock pollen in a tube, released only when a bee vibrates them | |
| 3 | Cuckoo bumble bee | c) A larval growth stage the developing bee passes through before it pupates | |
| 4 | Instar | d) The sheltered spot, about an inch or two underground, where a mated queen overwinters | |
| 5 | Diapause | e) A bee that visits many different kinds of flowers rather than specializing on one | |
| 6 | Reproductives | f) A species that invades another bumble bee’s nest and uses its workers to raise its own young | |
| 7 | Generalist | g) The dormant period a queen enters for a time even in mild-winter regions like Florida | |
| h) The wax cup a queen fills with a pollen-and-nectar cake before laying her eggs on it | |||
| i) A worker stationed at the nest entrance to guard against invaders |
Answer Key:
1 → d, 2 → b, 3 → f, 4 → c, 5 → g, 6 → a, 7 → e
(Distractors not used: h — that is the wax pot, which neither speaker labeled as a term here; i — no nest-guard role was described.)
Source in transcript: Hibernacula (blocks 37, 44, 70–71, ~9:30–19:22); poricidal anthers (blocks 59–60, ~15:56–16:21); cuckoo bumble bee (blocks 45–50, ~12:40–13:52); instar (block 40, ~10:45); diapause/Florida (blocks 270–271, ~1:20:56–1:21:30); reproductives (block 42, ~11:29); generalist (block 196, ~57:12).
Matching Exercise 3: Match the Bee to the Fact
Timestamp Reference: 21:50 – 1:13:10 (primary coverage area)
Type: Species Identification
Instructions: Match each bee in Column A with the fact stated about it during the session in Column B. Two options in Column B will not be used.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) | a) Listed on the Endangered Species Act in 2017; native to parts of the Southeast | |
| 2 | Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) | b) Most common bumble bee in Georgia — about 70% of Griffin’s sightings — with a long tongue and a yellow first tergite | |
| 3 | Franklin’s bumble bee | c) A cuckoo bumble bee proposed for Endangered Species Act listing in 2025 | |
| 4 | Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi) | d) Considered vulnerable, but turning up more often in Southeastern suburban parks and community gardens | |
| 5 | Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) | e) Listed in 2022; native only to southern Oregon and northern California | |
| 6 | American bumble bee | f) Declined where neonicotinoid use increased, in a study Hatfield co-led | |
| 7 | Carpenter bee | g) Smooth, bald “shiny hiney” abdomen; the subject of the Week One session | |
| h) The non-native honey bee, kept mainly for honey rather than for conservation | |||
| i) A rumpled-looking find Griffin made last year, named for the slide’s scientific name Bombus sandersoni |
Answer Key:
1 → b, 2 → a, 3 → e, 4 → c, 5 → f, 6 → d, 7 → g
(Distractors not used: h — the honey bee was discussed but is not one of the listed bumble bees; i — the Sandersoni bee was a Griffin sighting, not in Column A.)
Source in transcript: Eastern bumble bee (blocks 183–188, ~52:40–54:24); rusty patched, Franklin’s, Suckley cuckoo (blocks 79–81, ~21:50–22:52); western bumble bee study (block 96, ~27:00); American bumble bee (block 237, ~1:10:05); carpenter bee (blocks 241–243, ~1:10:47–1:12:45); Sandersoni bee (block 239, ~1:10:36).
Processed for UGA Center for Urban Agriculture / Great Southeast Pollinator Course Archives
Source: Corrected SRT (Stage 1) — GTBOP_Transcript_2026-06-23_Bumblebees.srt (280 blocks); Archive Package (Stage 2)