Page "Bumblebee" Paragraph 17

To develop, these larvae must be fed both nectar for carbohydrates and pollen for protein.

Bumblebees feed nectar to the larvae by chewing a small hole in the brood cell into which they regurgitate nectar.

Larvae are fed pollen in one of two ways, depending on the bumblebee species.

So-called " pocket-maker " bumblebees create pockets of pollen at the base of the brood-cell clump that the larvae feed themselves from.

Conversely, " pollen-storers " store pollen in separate wax pots and feed it to the larvae in the same fashion as nectar.

Bumblebees are incapable of trophallaxis ( direct transfer of food from one bee to another ).