Sources

Where the facts come from

Every factual claim on this site links to its source. This is the full list.

How we checked

Each fact was written alongside its source. Our build script stores the source text and, for every fact, checks that the key words and figures really appear in it. 155 of 155 checks currently pass. Where we couldn’t find a source we could read, we left the claim out.

Main sources: the US Geological Survey, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the Xerces Society, the FAO, the IUCN, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the NHS, the BBC and Wikipedia (for widely established biology).

All sources (57)

iucn.org/content/nearly-one-10-wild-bee-species-face-extinction-europe-while-status-more-half-remains-unknown-iucn-report (4 facts)
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3Q6DBVG8czjnrkYP0sKl2NZ/the-buzz-about-bees (8 facts)
www.bumblebeeconservation.org/learn-about-bumblebees/beginners/about-bumblebees/ (2 facts)
www.bumblebeeconservation.org/learn-about-bumblebees/beginners/lifecycle/ (4 facts)
www.bumblebeeconservation.org/news/how-to-help-hibernating-bumblebees/ (1 fact)
www.bumblebeeconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bumblebee-nests.pdf (1 fact)
www.bumblebeeconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bumblebee-stats-and-facts-PDF.pdf (10 facts)
www.bumblebeeconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Short-haired-Bumblebee-Reintroduction-Project-10-year-report.pdf (1 fact)
www.fao.org/pollination/about/en (5 facts)
www.fws.gov/species/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-bombus-affinis (1 fact)
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/biodiversity.html (1 fact)
www.nhs.uk/conditions/anaphylaxis/ (1 fact)
www.nhs.uk/conditions/insect-bites-and-stings/ (3 facts)
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1973/summary/ (1 fact)
www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2019/02/22/world-s-biggest-bee-found.html (1 fact)
www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-species-native-bees-are-united-states (3 facts)
www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/12-015_02_XercesSoc_Nests-for-Native-Bees-fact-sheet_web.pdf (1 fact)
www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/15-007_04_XercesSoc_Farming-for-Bees-Guidelines_web.pdf (6 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agapostemon (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amegilla (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthophora_plumipes (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_cerana (2 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_nigrocincta (2 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee (17 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeswax (2 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_affinis (3 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_dahlbomii (3 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_hortorum (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_impatiens (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_terrestris (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee (11 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colletes (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colletes_hederae (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasypoda_hirtipes (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_(bee) (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euglossa_imperialis (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_constancy (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee (14 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_hotel (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasioglossum (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megachile_pluto (3 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megachile_rotundata (2 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melipona (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonicotinoid (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomada (3 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid_bee (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmia_cornifrons (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmia_lignaria (4 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdita_minima (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_(honeybee) (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragonula_carbonaria (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa_velutina (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waggle_dance (8 facts)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_honey_bee (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_caerulea (1 fact)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_virginica (2 facts)

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