Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Bumble bee in a state of torpidness...

Photo by Barry Wallace
Do bumble bees sleep overnight in flowers?
For the past two weeks or so, I have observed bumble bees seemingly spending nights huddled deep in the petals of the Rose of Sharon flowers blossoming in our backyard.   When I go out early each morning to the garden and observe the Rose of Sharon blooms, I have seen bumble bees buried deep down into the flower petals, motionless and ... well, sleeping.   When I touch them a few times, they start to slowly stir themselves.   After several seconds they begin to twitch a bit and move tentatively backwards from the petals.  They give themselves a few shakes and then just sit there, as though asking: "where am I?".   They do eventually move on.   If dear reader, you have any knowledge of this behaviour through your own observations, I would love for you to post a comment here.
Barry Wallace

2 comments:

  1. I found this Barry at the following website: https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/2013/10/13-things-about-bumble-bee/

    Sleeping Bees

    Fact #1: Bees require a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher to fly easily without using up all of their nectar stores. But they prefer it hot: 80-90 degrees.

    On a cool morning I’ve noticed bumble bees asleep inside a squash blossom, underneath a flower, or generally looking lazy.

    Fact #2: Bees sleeping outside the nest will sleep under a flowerhead or inside a deep flower like a squash blossom where the temperature can be up to 18 degrees warmer close to the nectar source.

    Fact #3: The bee asleep in the flower on a cool morning may be a female forager who got caught outside the nest when the temperature decreased rapidly. Her job is to forage for nectar and pollen and she stores it in (yellow) pollen baskets on her hind legs to take back to the nest.

    Fact #4: Or the sleeping bee may be a male, for most males leave the nest just a few days after hatching, and do not return. Their job is to drink nectar all day and chase queens for mating. They spend the day marking objects in their territory with their scent to attract a female queen. Since they don’t return to the nest, they do not have pollen baskets on their hind legs.

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  2. Fascinating, Warren. Thank you so much for the input.

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