Bumble bees are a fairly new pollination tactic for farmers in the US and because of this much of their management still needs to be worked out. However, there are a few general rules are relevant. An important management guideline is that bumble bees, similar to honey bees, are attractive to bears, skunks, raccoons, ants, and other wildlife. Therefore they need to be protected. Electric fences and pedestals with barriers to place hives on are a good investment. Birds also will gorge themselves on bumble bees and so locations in the middle of fields are preferred to those adjacent to woodlots or forest edges where birds tend to nest and congregate. Bumble bees generally nest in a subterranean location and so they are susceptible to hot dry conditions. Construction of a temporary roof to shade the bumble bees is a good tactic in hotter climate zones in the US. Bumble bees like all animals need access to water. While they do acquire some water from nectar, elimination of water stress through placement of hives (proximal to natural bodies of water) or construction of temporary pools may enhance colony productivity and foraging, especially in hot climates. Generally, bumble bees will coexist with honey bees, but sometimes (especially during a nectar dearth) honey bees will rob bumble bee hives. The result of this might be a minor set back in bumble bee foraging since defensive behaviors are stimulated or it can result in the destruction of the bumble bee colony. Therefore, placing bumble bees as far as possible from honey bees especially during times of floral resource dearth is a good strategy. The last tactic that might be considered is that bumble bees can be moved to other locations similar to movement of honey bees. A minimum distance has not been established for bumble bees and so guidelines for honey bees is a good starting point. Many bumble bee hives have doors that can be adjusted to only let workers enter the hive and not exit. Therefore, planning the move a day ahead is a good plan since many workers have been observed to spend the night on flowers. The ability to move bumble bee hives provides flexibility to farmers that have large acreage and different crops, but it also allows them an opportunity to recover their purchase costs by selling the hive to other farmers that have crops that have pollination needs later in the season.

- Frank Drummond, University of Maine

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