Often encountered foraging at flowers.
Some species choose nesting places around people's houses.
Wooden storage sheds and small barns, which may also house small rodents, are a favorite nesting place of bumble bees. Their colonies are a spectacular example of social organization, with each member working tirelessly to protect and build the colony. Bumble bees are beneficial insects, performing unexcelled pollinating services for such crops as red clover and blueberries. Many species, normally docile and unaggressive while foraging on flowers, turn vicious when their nests are disturbed, chasing intruders for many yards away from the nest. Control is usually not recommended.