Did you know there are over 49 species of bumblebees in the United States and they are important native pollinators, and they're especially well adapted to pollinating native wildflowers like this beautiful purple cone flower growing in a viewer's garden in Bremen, Indiana.
Bumblebees have an interesting adaptation in that different species have different length tongues or proboscis, and the proboscis can be short or medium or long.
And the species of bumblebee then is adapted to feeding in different types of native wildflowers, some requiring longer tongues, some requiring shorter tongues.
Bumblebees have different patterns and different amounts of hairs on their abdomen.
And that's one way that you can learn to differentiate the different species that might be visiting your plants.
Native plants are important to helping keep our native bumblebees thriving.
They are under threat from things like pesticide use, loss of habitat and a decline in our native wildflowers.
Hey, we love it when viewers send us pictures and video clips.
And if you found something interesting in your yard or perhaps on a hike in a local park, you can send us a message on the Outdoor Elements Facebook page or email us and hopefully we can share your clips here.
Remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.
We'll see you soon.