hommels

Hommels is a Dutch term that can refer to two related uses: the plural form of hommel, meaning bumblebees, and as a Dutch-language surname. In general English-language contexts, the lowercase form hommels denotes the bumblebees themselves, while the capitalized form Hommels may be encountered as a family name in the Netherlands and Belgium.

As a noun, hommel refers to a bumblebee, a stout, hairy bee belonging to the genus Bombus. Bumblebees are social insects with colonies that typically include a queen, workers, and drones. They differ from honeybees in their colony dynamics, brood care, and honey stores; many species form annual colonies, with queens overwintering and founding new nests in spring. Bumblebees are important pollinators, using both nectar for energy and pollen for protein, and they often engage in buzz pollination to access certain flowers.

Ecology and behavior: Bumblebees prefer open habitats such as meadows, gardens, and heathlands, and they nest in cavities in the ground, old rodent burrows, or sheltered spaces above ground. Their foraging ranges are relatively modest, and they tend to visit a variety of flowering plants. They face pressures from habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change, which have contributed to declines in several species in some regions.

As a surname, Hommels is a relatively uncommon Dutch surname. It may be of toponymic or descriptive origin and appears in Dutch-speaking populations without implying a specific occupation or lineage. Notable individuals with the surname, if any, are not detailed in this article.