Rich Hatfield of the Xerces Society explains why bumble bees outrank other pollinators — they collect pollen on purpose and can buzz-pollinate tomatoes and peppers that honey bees can’t — and which Southeastern species are now at risk. Becky Griffin (UGA Extension) then shows how to recognize one for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census: look for the fuzzy, hairy “fuzzy fanny” instead of the carpenter bee’s smooth “shiny hiney.”
Week Two of the Great Southeast Pollinator Course. About a quarter of North American bumble bees face extinction risk, three are on the Endangered Species Act, and the census runs August 21–22, 2026.
Educators attending the live session earned 1 PLU. This is the archived recording (no credit).
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Chapters
0:00 Introductions
1:19 Rich Hatfield: bumble bee ecology overview
3:20 Why pollinators matter
5:11 Why bees are the most significant pollinators
6:14 Bee and bumble bee diversity
7:50 Physiology, cognition, and diet breadth
9:12 The annual bumble bee life cycle
12:40 Cuckoo bumble bees
15:48 Buzz pollination and poricidal anthers
17:41 Nesting and overwintering
20:44 Bumble bee conservation status
21:50 Three species on the Endangered Species Act
22:52 Why bumble bees are declining
25:41 Neonicotinoids and systemic insecticides
27:23 Pathogens, honey bee competition, climate
30:14 What you can do at home
33:11 Choosing real flowers, avoiding treated plants
35:15 Community science and the Bumble Bee Atlas
37:37 Q&A with Rich Hatfield
43:41 Becky Griffin: identifying bumble bees
44:33 Apple pollination at Blairsville
46:09 Insect anatomy and the pollen press
48:35 The corbicula and foraging on St. John’s wort
51:46 Habitat beyond flowers
52:40 The eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens)
54:50 How bees learn and stay flower-faithful
57:31 Bee hair (pile) and electrostatic pollen pickup
1:00:24 Wings
1:04:08 Legs, tarsi, and tarsal claws
1:05:27 Faces, ocelli, and how bees see color
1:07:53 Bee cognition studies
1:09:38 Counting bumble bees for the census
1:10:47 Fuzzy fanny vs. shiny hiney
1:13:48 Why bumble bees are the superior pollinator
1:15:25 Closing Q&A
1:23:31 Wrap-up and next week
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Questions Answered in This Session
How long does it take a bumble bee to go from egg to adult?
Four to six weeks, through larval instars and a pupal stage. That first brood becomes the queen’s workers, and she has to incubate and feed them while still flying out for her own food in cold, wet early-season weather.
Which crops depend on buzz pollination?
Plants with poricidal anthers, where pollen stays locked in a tube until a bee vibrates it loose — many in the family Solanaceae, including tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Honey bees can’t do this, so those crops don’t benefit from honey bee visits.
Why are neonicotinoids such a concern?
They’re systemic and water-soluble, so the plant expresses them in pollen and nectar. A bee takes a sublethal microdose each visit, hitting navigation and reproduction. One study found them still present seven years after a single application to a woody plant.
Does keeping honey bees help conservation?
No. Hatfield called it animal husbandry, not conservation — honey bees aren’t endangered, and a single hive’s 15,000 to 80,000 bees compete with native bees for the same pollen and nectar. Keep them for honey if you like, just not as a conservation act.
What’s the most common bumble bee I’ll see in Georgia?
The eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens — about 70% of what Griffin sees, with a long tongue and a yellow front abdominal segment. Recognize that one and you’ve got the most common bee covered.
Do I need to identify bumble bees to species for the census?
No. You only need to recognize a bumble bee — fat and fuzzy with a hairy abdomen (the “fuzzy fanny”), against the carpenter bee’s smooth, bald “shiny hiney.”
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Resources
Xerces Society fact sheets and floral lists: xerces.org (see “Buying Bee Safe Plants”)
Bumble Bee Atlas community science: bumblebeeatlas.org
Great Southeast Pollinator Census: August 21–22, 2026
Next week — butterflies, with Dr. Sonia Altizer (UGA) and Jeremy Rhoden (University of Florida)
Great Southeast Pollinator Course — UGA Center for Urban Agriculture