Czech Bumblebee: Sustainable Breeding for Pollination

Bumblebees are vital pollinators, with one worker visiting up to 2,000 flowers daily. The Czech Bumblebee project breeds the native Bombus terrestris in controlled lab conditions to enhance agricultural and horticultural pollination. These bumblebees can fly in cool temperatures by raising their thorax to 37 °C. Their long tongues (over 2 cm) allow access to deep corolla tubes, reaching flowers other pollinators cannot. They excel in plant breeding isolators due to adaptability in confined spaces, unlike honeybees. This factsheet underscores their ecological and agricultural importance, featuring a bumblebee colony image.