Honey Bees are vital to our ecosystem. Many plants and crops would not survive without the pollination that honey bees provide! But how do these tiny creatures survive winter? I found it pretty fascinating! 🐝
A healthy hive has a better chance of surviving than an unhealthy one. Beekeepers make sure to check their hive in late summer/early fall to make sure that a hive has a healthy laying queen bee. If the queen isn’t laying or is missing, a new queen needs to be introduced very quickly before winter because the hive will die without a healthy queen over the winter!
Another thing they look for at this time is honey supply! The hive will need a certain amount of honey to survive the winter so bee keepers need to make sure they leave enough in the hive at harvest. If the honey stores are low, beekeepers can substitute with alternative sources of energy, like sugary nectar. Hibernating bees will consume up to 30 pounds of stored honey during the winter to help produce body heat.
Other things beekeepers look out for are: finding a good sunny location for the hive, keeping out pests, insulating the hive (but not too much!), and then, leaving the honey bees to their work! They work hard and know what they’re doing!
As the weather starts to get colder, honey bees will stop flying. In the lower centre of the hive, the bees form a cluster and huddle together around the queen, and shiver to keep up the temperature (like a giant sleepover!). Bees take turns being on the inside and outside of the cluster so no bees get cold! Teamwork. As the weather warms, bees will leave the hive for short periods of time but they don’t go far – if their bodies get too cold, they won’t be allowed back in!
Honey bees should be busy hibernating for a while now, and we hope they all survive this winter! We can’t imagine our world without their important work. 🐝
