Some WSU Extension web sites provide links to external sites for the convenience of users. These external sites are not managed by the WSU Extension. Furthermore, WSU Extension does not review, control or take responsibility for the content of these sites, nor do these sites implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of WSU Extension.
- 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 – 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– by Robbin W. Thorp, Donald S. Horning, Jr., and Lorry L. Dunning (Large file)
(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 04/25/23)