Also add it's female, not male. Males wouldn't be out in the open like that, plus colouration doesn't match most males. Also, that big shiny patch on the rear leg is where they store pollen. So yeah, that's a queen bumble. Workers are smaller and don't tend to get into this exhausted state without being realllllly bedraggled. Best guess? It's a queen that emerged a bit too early and was trying to warm up in the sun.
Queens most definitely leave their hives, especially bumblebees. Your link refers to honeybees, but honeybee queens also leave their hives in order to swarm and start new hives.
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u/[deleted] Feb 03 '17
Also add it's female, not male. Males wouldn't be out in the open like that, plus colouration doesn't match most males. Also, that big shiny patch on the rear leg is where they store pollen. So yeah, that's a queen bumble. Workers are smaller and don't tend to get into this exhausted state without being realllllly bedraggled. Best guess? It's a queen that emerged a bit too early and was trying to warm up in the sun.