Like us, hardy in the face of a chill, the common eastern bumblebee keeps working into the fall

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Tom Murray Common eastern bumblebees in Dunstable on Sept. 28, 2024.

If you see a bumblebee now, it is most likely a common eastern bumblebee ( Bombus impatiens ), which are remarkably resilient: While most other bumblebee species are done for the season, with newly hatched and mated queens overwintering in or on the ground, waiting for spring to reemerge, this one forages on. It can be seen until November, if the weather stays warm enough. Even during summer droughts, when other bee populations shrink, common easterns persist.

Late in the summer or early fall, the queen bee in a colony lays fertilized eggs that are nurtured to be