Quick Answer
Yes, there is a hummingbird species that resembles a bumblebee in appearance. The bee hummingbird, or zunzuncito as it is known in Cuba where it is endemic, is the world’s smallest bird and gets its name from its striking similarity to a bumblebee in size, coloration, and buzzing wing beats. With its tiny size, fast wingbeats, and bold black and yellow/orange plumage, it is often mistaken for an insect at first glance.
Overview of the Bee Hummingbird
The bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is a species of hummingbird native to the entire island of Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud. It measures only 5-6 cm long and weighs 1.6-2.4 g, making it the smallest living bird species on Earth. Some key facts about this tiny bird:
- Despite its tiny size, it has all the same anatomical features of larger hummingbird species, including specialized wings for hovering flight, a slender downcurved bill, a long extendable tongue for nectar feeding, and tiny feet.
- Males have vibrant iridescent plumage in shimmering greens, blues, and reddish-pink on the head, throat, and belly, with black tails and wings.
- Females are slightly larger than males and have pale grey-white undersides, green backs, and black tails with white tips. Their plumage is less vibrant than males.
- It feeds on nectar from flowers using its specialized long tongue that can extends past its bill tip. It also eats small insects and spiders.
- To hover at flowers, its wingbeat rate is an astounding 70-80 beats per second, the fastest of any hummingbird.
- It builds a very small cup-shaped nest out of plant down, spider webs, and lichens camouflaged on branches.
- Bee hummingbirds are solitary and territorial. Males perform elaborate aerial displays to mark territory and court females.
- They have an average lifespan of 3-5 years in the wild.
So in summary, this tiny bird has remarkably convergent evolution with bumblebees in its size, feeding behaviors, wing motions, and bold black-and-yellow striped plumage specifically adapted for pollination.
Appearance and Size
The most obvious bumblebee-like feature of the bee hummingbird is its extremely small size and compact round body shape. It averages only 5-6 cm long from bill tip to tail tip, smaller than many bees and other insects.
Its total body length in comparison to other common objects:
| Penny | 19 mm diameter |
| Bee hummingbird | 50-60 mm length |
| Paperclip | 80 mm length |
This makes it unlikely to be mistaken for anything other than a bee or insect at first glance. In fact, before being formally described by science in 1851, Cuban locals referred to the bee hummingbird simply as a “flying cockroach” because of its resemblance.
In addition to small size, the bird’s plump round body, short tail, and relatively large head are all similar in proportion to a bumblebee’s anatomy. Male bee hummingbirds even have a patch of short fuzzy feathers extending behind the head that resembles the furry thorax of a bee.
Coloration
The striking color patterns of the bee hummingbird represent another example of bumblebee mimicry through convergent evolution.
Males have vibrant iridescent plumage with these key areas:
- Throat and forehead: Shining metallic reddish-pink and purple
- Crown and back of head: Metallic blue and green
- Belly and undertail: Metallic emerald green
- Tails and wings: Velvety black
The combination of black wings and tail with a striped pattern of black next to the iridescent blue-green crown and throat very closely resembles the color patterns found on many bumblebee species.
Females lack the same vibrant iridescent colors, instead having grey-white undersides, green upperparts, and black wings with white tail tips. But the general pattern still evokes the striped appearance of a bumblebee.
Behavioral Adaptations
Beyond physical appearance, the bee hummingbird also exhibits many behavioral and functional similarities to bees that add to its resemblance as a bee mimic.
Feeding
Like bees, the bee hummingbird feeds primarily on nectar from flowers. Its long extendable tongue allows it to reach nectar at the base of long tubular flowers. Typical flower species it feeds from include:
- Fuchsia flowers
- Red gilia
- Trumpet creeper
- Bird of paradise flowers
It will aggressively defend flower patches in its territory, much as bumblebees aggressively compete for flower resources. The bird also supplements its diet with small insects and spiders, similar to bees.
Flight and Wing Motions
The bee hummingbird is specialized for energy-intensive hovering flight similar to bees. Its wings beat in a figure-8 pattern up to 70-80 times per second, faster than any other hummingbird species. This allows the bird to precisely maintain hovering position while feeding on nectar.
The rapid wing oscillations produce a loud buzzing and humming sound, much like a bee’s wings, which contributes to the bee-like impression. The bee hummingbird can also fly quickly between flowers with great maneuverability and precision, mimicking the flight dynamics of bees.
Breeding and Nesting
Male bee hummingbirds perform elaborate courtship displays to attract females, involving repeated vertical ascents up to 30m above territory followed by sudden U-shaped dives. This behavior resembles the vertical territorial patrols and mating rituals performed by male bumblebees near nest sites.
Females build very small delicate cups of plant down, spider silk, and lichens in which they lay two tiny white eggs. The disguised nests are placed on low branches, cliff ledges, and even clothes lines near human habitation, not unlike bumblebee nest sites.
Evolutionary History
The unique appearance and behavior of the bee hummingbird represent an extraordinary example of convergent evolution with bumblebees. Here are some key points about its evolutionary history:
- Hummingbirds separated from their common ancestor with swifts and treeswifts over 42 million years ago in the Eocene epoch according to DNA evidence.
- The major pulses of hummingbird diversification took place in South America following the establishment of flower-rich habitats about 22 million years ago.
- The bee hummingbird’s tiny size and long bill evolved as specializations for feeding on small orchid and fuchsia flowers found in Cuba’s diverse subtropical ecosystems.
- Its bright plumage and bee-like adaptations likely evolved to facilitate feeding on a wider range of nectar-rich flowers also pollinated by bees.
- Mimicking bee color patterns grants the bird greater access to flowers pollinated by bees, allowing it to more efficiently exploit nectar resources.
So the species exhibits a classic example of convergent evolution over millions of years since birds and bees diverged evolutionarily. Many of its unique traits support the theory that it is mimicking bumblebee morphology and behavior in order to thrive in a similar niche accessing flower nectar.
Identification Tips
When trying to identify a bee hummingbird, here are some key points:
- Extremely small size (5-6 cm long) rules out any other bird species
- Central and South America location limits to hummingbird species only
- Rapid wingbeats (faster than other hummers) produce loud buzzing sound
- Male has vibrant iridescent plumage and female is more uniformly green
- Frequents brightly colored tubular flowers characteristic of hummingbird plants
Any rapidly buzzing bird matching the size and description in Cuba will almost certainly be a bee hummingbird. The species has no close relatives filling a similar niche elsewhere in the world. No other bird mimics so many bumblebee characteristics in such a tiny package.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the aptly named bee hummingbird of Cuba represents a unique example of convergent evolution with bumblebees. Over time, it evolved striking morphological and behavioral similarities that allow it to thrive in a niche specializing in flower nectar just like bees. This includes its tiny size and proportions, short fuzzy plumage, wing motions that produce a signature buzzing sound, feeding behaviors, aerial courtship displays, and disguised nest placement. The male’s black and vibrant iridescent striped plumage completes the mimicry by resembling the color patterns of many bumblebee species. So this fascinating bird provides a case study of evolution leading to uncanny mimicry between unrelated species to optimize adaptations to shared ecological resources. When spotted buzzing among flowers in Cuba, it is easy to mistake for an insect at first glance.
