Bees in Winter
So fascinatingly bees are the only insect that hibernate. During the summer months they have stored up their honey to keep them going over winter, hence why when we steal it we have to make sure they also have fondant if they need it and we also make sure they have enough honey for themselves!
During the late autumn and through the winter the bees start to cluster around their Queen. They stop foraging and brood rearing, meaning the Queen pauses in her egg laying in this period. When they cluster they turn into a ball as such within the hive.
Bees are cold blooded and below certain temperatures they can't fly, during this winter period the bees movement is greatly reduced however they can detach their wings from their flight muscles and shiver, this creates heat and maintains the hive at a comfortable temperature- around 35 degrees celsius! if the temperature outside gets colder the bees get closer together, if they start to get too hot the bees make their way to the outer edge of the cluster to cool down.
In the winter the bees eat their honey stores to survive, during this time opening the hive for an inspection is a no go as it will loose too much heat. During the winter beekeepers make sure the hive doesn't starve and if the hive feels light we feed them fondant. it is important that leading up to Winter the queen excluder is removed so that the queen can move up and access the stores with her cluster. So although our bees are quiet, they're not technically sleeping but keeping each other warm and fed!
During the late autumn and through the winter the bees start to cluster around their Queen. They stop foraging and brood rearing, meaning the Queen pauses in her egg laying in this period. When they cluster they turn into a ball as such within the hive.
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| Image of a cluster from http://scientificbeekeeping.com/winter-colony-losses/ |
Bees are cold blooded and below certain temperatures they can't fly, during this winter period the bees movement is greatly reduced however they can detach their wings from their flight muscles and shiver, this creates heat and maintains the hive at a comfortable temperature- around 35 degrees celsius! if the temperature outside gets colder the bees get closer together, if they start to get too hot the bees make their way to the outer edge of the cluster to cool down.
In the winter the bees eat their honey stores to survive, during this time opening the hive for an inspection is a no go as it will loose too much heat. During the winter beekeepers make sure the hive doesn't starve and if the hive feels light we feed them fondant. it is important that leading up to Winter the queen excluder is removed so that the queen can move up and access the stores with her cluster. So although our bees are quiet, they're not technically sleeping but keeping each other warm and fed!
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| Bee Fondant |
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