Wintertime in a hive
Have you ever wondered how do bees stay warm in the winter? No fleece blankets? No fireplace? No thermostat to control? Well, this is accomplished by thermoregulation: this is the process by which honey bees control the temperature within the colony.
As summer fades to fall, the hive is busy preparing for winter; this includes storing away an abundance of honey and pollen, getting rid of the Drone bees (males - sorry guys!) and getting the hive air tight. Also during this time, the queen starts slowing down the pace of laying eggs and the eggs that hatch are referred to as ‘winter bees’. Let’s talk about each of these a little more:
Bees pick up on the sun moving from the autumn solstice to the winter solstice and know they need to start preparing; thus the need to store as much honey and pollen in a hive. In an average hive, they need around 30 pounds to make it through winter.
The purpose of the Drone (male) bee for reproduction - that is it. Other than that they provide no value to the hive, they do not defend, gather food etc. So in the fall, you will see the female honey bees start kicking out / killing the drones. The reason is simple: there is no need to keep around extra mouths to feed.
The bees also prep the hive by sealing off any cracks or spaces with a substance called propolis which is a sticky substance produced by the bees. If you ever wondered why bee keepers used small crow bar tools to pop open the hive….well now you know.
The hive and queen know winter is coming so the new bees that hatch are winter bees; winter bees are a little bigger than summer bees as they have more fat to survive the winter.
Bees typically don’t leave the hive when temps dip below ~50 degrees so as fall fades to winter and the temperatures decrease the bees do not leave the hive. Inside the hive they band together in what is called a cluster, a round ball if you will, with the queen in the center. Typically starting in the lower part of the hive and working upward, the bees move to get to the stored honey and pollen. The bees need to keep the cluster warm, around ~90 degrees in order to survive so within the cluster they start shivering which produces endothermic heat via shivering; the wing muscles of the bee shiver which produces heat and that heats and protects the cluster and the queen that is in the middle. It isn’t necessary to heat the entire hive, just keep that cluster warm!
If you know any beekeepers, they may talk about how challenging this time of year can be especially if the winter is extreme….cold, snow, duration. It is difficult to know how your bees are doing but thankfully technology can help us. Below is a photo from one of my hives where a heat gun was used to determine the status of the hive. More about this in a future blog….
Thermal image from one of the hives.
Ambient temp is 47 degrees, nice and warm in the hive.
As I write this there are only 55 days until Spring: So the countdown is on!
If you liked this blog or have any questions, please drop a comment…..
Until next time…..be good, bee the change.