Nighty-Night, Mr. Bumble Bee!

Have you ever seen a bumble bee sleeping?

If you slip out to your garden at night or early morning, you might find the male bumble bees asleep in, on or around the flowers.

The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, frequents our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. By day, the bumble bees nectar on African blue basil, Mexican sunflower, lavender, salvia, foxgloves, catmint, honeysuckle, milkweed, California golden poppies and the like. Then at night, when the females return to their nests, the males find a cozy place to sleep.

They may cushion their heads on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) or straddle a lavender (Lavendula), holding on with their legs or mandibles.

Oftentimes they'll sleep safely and securely inside a flower that closes at night, such as a California poppy or a torch cactus. 

Our Bombus residents seem to prefer the Mexican sunflowers and lavender.

Nighty-night. Sleep tight. Don't let the praying mantids and spiders bite.  

Bee Books
Interested in bumble bees? Be sure to read the landmark  book, California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday Press). the work of UC-affiliated authors Gordon Frankie, (the late) Robbin Thorp, Rollin E. Coville, and Barbara Ertte. 

Thorp (1933-2019), a distinguished emeritus professor with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, also co-authored Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University Press).