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Bombus impatiens

Buzz pollination by bumblebees is the canonical pollination mode for Vaccinium; honeybees lack the wing-buzz vibration that releases pollen from the urn-shaped flowers, so bumblebees are functionally specialist pollinators on commercial blueberry.

Tomato flowers are buzz-pollinated - pollen is released by the wing-buzz vibration of Bombus and related native bees. Honeybees lack this behavior and cannot effectively pollinate tomato; commercial greenhouse tomato production specifically introduces bumblebee hives for this reason.

The showy ball-shaped 'Annabelle' florets are sterile, but the smaller fertile florets that surround them attract bees for pollination of the seed-producing flowers (which 'Annabelle' produces inconsistently due to its cultivar selection for showy sterile flowers).

Tomato flowers are buzz-pollinated - pollen is released by the wing-buzz vibration of Bombus and related native bees. Honeybees lack this behavior and cannot effectively pollinate tomato; commercial greenhouse tomato production specifically introduces bumblebee hives for this reason.

Buzz pollination by bumblebees is the canonical pollination mode for Vaccinium; honeybees lack the wing-buzz vibration that releases pollen from the urn-shaped flowers, so bumblebees are functionally specialist pollinators on commercial blueberry.

The showy ball-shaped 'Annabelle' florets are sterile, but the smaller fertile florets that surround them attract bees for pollination of the seed-producing flowers (which 'Annabelle' produces inconsistently due to its cultivar selection for showy sterile flowers).

NC State documents bumblebees as primary pollinators; the pea-flower architecture requires bumblebee landing weight to open the keel and access the nectar reward.

Early-spring native bees emerging from winter are the primary pollinators; serviceberry is among the earliest spring nectar sources in eastern North America.

Bumble bees are the classic pollinators of foxglove, climbing up into the pendulous tubular flowers for nectar and transferring pollen as they work the spike.

Large bumblebees are among the few insects strong enough to work the pollinia-loaded flowers effectively.

NC State documents bee attraction; bumblebees + honeybees are the primary cucumber pollinators. Cucumber benefits less from squash-bee specialist pollination than Cucurbita pepo does (squash bees prefer their Cucurbita hosts).

Long-tongued bumblebees access the tubular corolla efficiently and serve as primary pollinators alongside the specialist Penstemon mason bee (Osmia distincta).

NC State documents bumblebees as primary pollinators via the spring-loaded anther-trigger mechanism. The flower's unique architecture co-evolved with native bumblebee-sized visitors - honeybees pollinate less efficiently because they're smaller than the trigger mechanism's target.

The flat-topped cyme is a landing platform of many small open flowers with nectar and pollen freely accessible, and bumblebees work that architecture heavily in May. Missouri Botanical Garden records butterflies alongside birds under what the plant attracts and does not name bees, so this is listed as plausible from floral form and season rather than from a visitation record.

Critical late-season nectar source for late-summer bumblebees building reserves before winter dormancy; aster pollen is what some Bombus queens carry into hibernation.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags special value to native bees; bumble bees work the fragrant pale-yellow June cymes for nectar.

The small early-summer flowers are a documented nectar and pollen source for bees; native bumblebees work the axillary clusters, though beautyberry is grown for its fruit rather than as a bee magnet.

Bumblebees work the lipped summer flowers for nectar, and the broad lower lip is a ready landing platform for a bee their size; cited as plausible generalist foraging on a mint-family nectar source rather than a species-specific documented tie.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: special value to bumble bees - the early March bloom is an important pre-foliage nectar and pollen source.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Agastache foeniculum as having special value to bumble bees; the long-blooming flower spikes are a heavily worked summer nectar source.

Bumble bees work the fragrant spring blossom for nectar and pollen and are effective apple pollinators alongside honey bees; the showy April flower is a spring forage source.

Missouri Botanical Garden and NC State describe the late-spring flowers as attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators; the narrow, tubular blooms suit long-tongued bumblebees, so common eastern bumblebee is listed as a plausible nectar forager (inferred from flower form plus the general pollinator note, not a species-specific record).

NC State Extension documents the flowers as a fall nectar source for bees; bumble bees are among the late-season visitors to the broad flattened flower heads.

Beach plum carries the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center "Special Value to Native Bees" flag; its early profuse white bloom is a nectar and pollen source for native bumble bees such as the common eastern bumble bee.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags black cherry as having Special Value to Bumble Bees; the spring racemes are a nectar source for bumble bees such as the common eastern bumble bee.

Spring hawthorn-like flowers attract bumblebees and other Rosaceae-visiting pollinators.

Bumble bees visit the spring-to-summer flowers; genus-level inference for Rubus.

Early-emerging bumblebees work the early-spring bloom.

A documented nectar plant for bumble bees; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Verbena hastata as having Special Value to Native Bees.

Bumble bees are frequent visitors to the nectar-rich corymbs; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags boneset as having special value to native bees.

The open, accessible blue flowers are readily worked by bumble bees as well as honey bees; bumble-bee visitation follows from the documented general bee attraction (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder; NC State Extension).

The common eastern bumblebee overlaps the shrub native southeastern range and is a typical visitor to summer-flowering woodland shrubs; treated as a plausible rather than a species-documented association.

Flagged as Special Value to Bumble Bees and Native Bees by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; the early-season catkins provide critical spring forage when queens are establishing colonies.

Bumblebees work the open flowers for pollen through late spring across the plant's eastern native range; the common eastern bumblebee is a frequent visitor to native spring anemones, which offer abundant pollen but little nectar, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center records pollinator value for the conspicuous flowers.

Bumblebees visit the wide, pollen-rich blooms as generalist foragers where the plant is grown outdoors in summer; graded plausible rather than a documented specialist tie.

The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists Clematis x jackmanii as attracting bees; common eastern bumble bees forage the pollen of the open showy flowers.

Queen bumble bees emerging in early spring are commonly observed foraging on crocus pollen, an early-season resource when little else is in bloom. Recorded as plausible: the Missouri Botanical Garden species page does not assert a specific bumble-bee relationship.

NC State Extension documents that eggplant flowers attract bumblebees. Eggplant pollen is released by buzz (sonication) pollination, which bumblebees perform and honey bees largely cannot, so bumblebees meaningfully improve fruit set.

Bumble bees forage pollen at accessible rose flowers; access depends on petal density, so single and semi-double cultivars support them best.

The wide-open mallow flowers present abundant pollen that bumblebees readily work; Missouri Botanical Garden notes the species attracts butterflies and the flowers are broadly insect-visited, though the PlantFinder profile does not name a specific bee species.

Bumblebees work the open, dish-shaped flowers for pollen during the late-summer-to-fall bloom, when other pollen sources are waning.

The open, bowl-shaped flowers with an exposed stamen boss are readily worked by bumble bees; bumble-bee pollen foraging follows from the bee attraction NC State Extension documents for this plant.

Common eastern bumble bees readily work the showy yellow Cucurbita flowers (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder describes the bloom as showy) and are important generalist pollinators of pumpkin and squash.

Early-emerging bumble bee queens rely on the earliest-blooming plants; pussy willow catkins open while little else is in flower, providing critical early-season pollen and nectar.

The Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder and NC State Plant Toolbox both list pollinators/bees among the visitors; the common eastern bumble bee is a plausible visitor to the large pollen-rich flowers, though the sources do not name this species specifically.

Bumble bees forage pollen at accessible single rose flowers; the wide-open rugosa bloom suits them well, though the tie is not individually documented for this species.

Like other bumblebees, the common eastern bumblebee can work the keeled pea flowers for pollen and nectar where the plant is grown within its range, contributing to seed set.

Bumble bees forage pollen at accessible single-to-semi-double rose flowers; the open alba bloom suits them well, though the tie is plausible rather than individually documented for this species.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Lupinus perennis with "special value to bumble bees" and "special value to native bees"; bumble bees are heavy enough to trip the keeled pea flowers open and are primary pollinators.

The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox records that bumblebees are attracted to the pollen of the nectarless flowers, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags special value to bumble bees.

Plotwright. (n.d.). Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/bombus-impatiens