I’m in love with sleeping bumble bees 
and I can’t stop photographing them. I love how they bed down in the flowers in the early evening, especially when they curl up into the blackberry blossoms. I’m addicted to taking photos of them every evening at dusk. They are adorably fuzzy and super cute, and it’s fun to get close-up photos when they are perfectly still.
Every evening when I take our dog potty and tell my husband I’ll be right back, he chuckles and says, “Okay. See you in about an hour,” because he knows when I pass the blackberries, I’ll get lost in admiring the bees.
Does anyone else have this addiction?
If they are spending the night away from the nest, would these be parasitised bees?
Not necessarily. I’m not sure what the usual Bombus arrangements are, but it is fairly common for males of many species (and females of cuckoo species) to sleep in flowers, often in aggregations (e.g., see the observations in this project). I’ve also occasionally seen females sleeping or waiting out bad weather in flowers, so it doesn’t seem to be outside the range of normal behavior. It may depend on whether one is in the middle of nesting and has to defend one’s space from intruders/other females or not.
Sometimes I find them early in the morning coated in dew.
Good question and glad to hear from spiphany that this may not be the case. Phew!
I love this photo! Thank you for sharing!
I enjoy finding the longhorn bees; I’ve been watching them congregate around my yard for a few years now in the heat of summer! If I knew where to finding sleeping bumble bees you bet I’d be looking for them constantly!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/299749631
I love that photo of all of them on the grass. They are lovely. Thank you for sharing that.
I love your pictures of the sleeping bees! There are so many of them! The most I’ve seen in my garden is 3: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/370920490
I think I need to plant a different kind of flowers for bumblebees to sleep in. I haven’t ever had them sleeping in my yard. Recommendations welcome! I too have become a huge fan of sleepy bees and would love for more to use my garden as their bedroom.
