- Conserving Bumble Bees. Guidelines for Creating and Managing Habitat for America’s Declining Pollinators. – Xerces Society publication. Includes nest plan in appendix.
- A Field Guide to the Bumble Bees of Washington State
- Washington Bumble Bees in Home Yards and Gardens – WSU fact sheet FS 263e
- Plants for Pollinators links – Plant lists by regions
- Bumble Bee Conservation Trust – British bumble bee conservation
- An Experimental Bumblebee House– “Scarabs” article, 2002, by Dave Pehling
- Breeding Bumble Bees, Journal of Apicultural Research 5(3): 155 – 165 (1966), Plowright and Jay
- A Guide To Rearing Bumble Bees – YouTube video by OSU Ph.D. student
- Befriending Bumble Bees – A Guide to Raising Bumbles. U. of Minn.
- Raising Bumble Bees at Home: A Guide to Getting Started (pdf) – Dr. J. P. Strange, USDA-ARS, Pollinating Insect Research Unit
- The Historical Background of the Domestication of the Bumble Bee, Bombus terrestris, and its Introduction to Agriculture –
- Conservation and Management of North American Bumble Bees (pdf) USDA & NatureServe. (Errata: the hole size for nests should be 3/4 inch, NOT 1/4 inch)
- Bumble Bee Nest Box Plans – Tom Clothier and the B. C. Fruit Testers Association
- Another nest box design from the Netherlands
- The Bumblebee Pages – How You Can Help Bumblebees
- “The Humble-Bee” – Sladen’s 1912 classic on rearing bumble bees
Taxonomic Keys to the Bumble Bees
- Bumble Bees of the Western United States – Jonathan Koch, James Strange, Paul Williams. U.S. Forest Service & Pollinator Partnership. Great pictures, range maps and key. 143 pp.
- Bumble Bees and Cuckoo Bumble Bees of California (pdf) – by Robbin W. Thorp, Donald S. Horning, Jr., and Lorry L. Dunning (Large file)
- BOOK: Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide – Princeton U. Press. Paul H. Williams, Robbin W. Thorp, Leif L. Richardson, and Sheila R. Colla
- Bumble Bees of Washington State – Washingtonbumblebees.org. A Color Based Dichotomous Key
- (Some information in these links may not be suitable for Western Washington. Check with your local WSU Extension office if you have any questions.)
Compiled by: Dave Pehling, Snohomish County Extension Analyst (ret.) (updated 08/19/24)
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