Bumblebees in the fall? What’s going on here? This is a Common Eastern Bumblebee. Non-reproductive female bees, or workers, have the grand task of foraging for next year’s Queens-in-waiting, currently in the nest getting plenty fattened up to survive a trying winter. The internal cue to forage must be powerful; even on chilly days workers will fly. But bumblebees have a secret skill to help them forage in cold temperatures… Bumblebees are heterothermic and can fluctuate their body temperature by