 Bumblebees are typically found in temperate climates , and are often found at higher latitudes and altitudes than other bees , although a few lowland tropical species exist . A few species ( B. polaris and B. alpinus ) range into very cold climates where other bees might not be found ; B. polaris occurs in northern Ellesmere Island in the high Arctic , along with another bumblebee B. hyperboreus , which parasitises its nest . This is the most northernmost occurrence of any eusocial insect . One reason for their presence in cold places is that bumblebees can regulate their body temperature , via solar radiation , internal mechanisms of " shivering " and radiative cooling from the abdomen ( called heterothermy ) . Other bees have similar physiology , but the mechanisms seem best developed and have been most studied in bumblebees . They adapt to higher elevations by extending their wing stroke amplitude . Bumblebees have a largely cosmopolitan distribution but are absent from Australia ( apart from Tasmania where they have been introduced ) and are found in Africa only north of the Sahara . 
