In the fall as clear, cool evenings become the norm something special happens in our garden. Bees of all sorts - Bumblebees (Bombus), honeybees, sweat bees – work furiously in the garden during the day gathering nectar from fall flowers. As the evening falls, they all return to their hives, except the Bumblebees. For some reason, they are compelled to continue working – they just can’t pull themselves away.
As the temperature drops they move slower and slower until they go torpid (fall into a deep sleep). And there they stay, all night, exactly where they stopped work. As the morning sun raises and warms them, the Bumbles resume work right where they left off. These photos are of Bumblebees I found this morning in gourd flowers. In the spring, we see the same thing happen on Lambs Ears (
Stachys lanata) flowers and the Bumbles are often so sleepy we can pet them.
In the fall as clear, cool evenings become the norm something special happens in our garden. Bees of all sorts - Bumblebees (Bombus), honeybees, sweat bees – work furiously in the garden during the day gathering nectar from fall flowers. As the evening falls, they all return to their hives, except the Bumblebees. For some reason, they are compelled to continue working – they just can’t pull themselves away. 
As the temperature drops they move slower and slower until they go torpid (fall into a deep sleep). And there they stay, all night, exactly where they stopped work. As the morning sun raises and warms them, the Bumbles resume work right where they left off. These photos are of Bumblebees I found this morning in gourd flowers. In the spring, we see the same thing happen on Lambs Ears (Stachys lanata) flowers and the Bumbles are often so sleepy we can pet them.
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