Two bumblebees, one larger and one smaller, on a pale white background — Queen bumblebee (left) beside a smaller worker bee. New UC Davis research found that queen bumblebees learn flower scents more quickly than workers — an advantage that may help them survive the high-stakes challenge of starting a colony alone each spring. (Brandon Kong)

This Single Mother Must Learn Quickly — Or Her Colony Won’t Survive

Scientists Hope to Understand What Makes Queen Bumblebees So Smart

by Douglas Fox
May 15, 2026

Being a single mother of 20 is no joke, especially if the survival of a whole species depends on it.

A queen bumblebee faces this very challenge when she lays her first eggs in the spring: She is utterly alone, with no worker bees to help.

She flies miles each day, collecting nectar to feed her young. She builds a protective nursery from wax. When she’s not out foraging, she climbs atop her larvae and buzzes to warm them.

“It’s extremely high stakes for the queen,” said Melanie Kimball, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at the University of California, Davis. “If she fails, the entire colony fails.”

After several weeks, the first workers bees finally emerge and start to help her. But even then, she will always be the single mother of her colony.

Kimball and Felicity Muth, assistant professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, are studying how queen bumblebees manage the challenges of starting a colony.

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