09/01/2026
Where does a bumblebee spend the night?
If it is a male, in late summer, the answer is right out in the open. Males have no hive to go home to. They leave the nest for good once they are grown, and when the light fades they simply pick a flower, clamp on with their feet, and sleep where they land. Head down in the goldenrod. Gripping a sedum head. Dusted with dew by morning.
Walk out at dusk tonight and look at whatever is blooming. The still, furry lump that does not fly away is not sick and not stuck. He is in bed.
The cool air slows him, so he will hold still enough to study from a few inches away. Let him sleep it off. The sun is his alarm clock. 🐝
