In spring and summer
I wanted big hives
With lots of bees
and now
(with winter on her way)
i want things
smaller
Starvation is responsible for a significant number of managed honeybee colony deaths over the winter.
Unfortunately, a portion of these losses can be attributed to poor hive management practices.
A beehive entering winter must be left with adequate food stores.
(honey and pollen)
Overharvesting is unethical
(and a real dick move)
Don’t do it.
The first summer in the apiary has been successful.
(better than expected, actually)
We’ve experienced no significant colony losses, the bees are healthy and strong, and all the hives have ample stored resources to take them through the winter.
(a big test for the beekeeper)
And winter, at least here in Maryland, means that my bees cannot exist in any meaningful way outside the hive. The temperatures are just too low and there are few beneficial resources available outside for them to gather.1
So what to do?
Honeybees don’t hibernate
(not exactly)
but it’s also not business as usual
As temperatures cool, resources dwindle, and the amount of daylight decreases, the behavior of the colony changes. The queen reduces brood production, worker bees forage less, and the drones are sent packing.
(no boys allowed)
There are three ‘types’ of honeybee that make up a colony: the queen, the worker, and the drone.
There is one queen.
She lays eggs and keeps morale.
A queen can live up to 5 years.
Female bees - worker bees - make up the vast majority of a colony’s population. They have various roles - both inside and outside the hive - over the course of their lives.
(yesterday I watched undertaker bees at work)
The typical worker bee lifespan is between 35-45 days. Though ‘fall born bees’ - the ones that occupy the hive in winter - have a lifespan of up to six months.
(and the reason why is super interesting)
And to the male bee, the drone, falls the singular duty of fertilizing new queens.
In fall they are ejected from the hive and will not survive winter.
le sigh…
Honeybees are cold blooded insects and, generally, become lethargic or immobile at temperatures below 50°F.
(maryland winters average 34°F)
During cold periods, the colony will stay inside the hive.
They just don’t leave.
(they can’t)
And to stay warm, the bees gather into a cluster
(with the queen bee at the center)
and shiver
This behavior - called ‘clustering’ - helps the colony maintain a survivable temperature inside the hive, even when it's far below outside.
The core temperature of the cluster is typically maintained around 86-95°F.
To eat, the cluster will move around the hive accessing food stores that were created in spring and summer.
(honey and pollen)
It takes a considerable amount of energy to maintain the cluster. In some parts of the US, colonies can consume over 100 pounds of honey over the winter.
(it’s no small amount)
So what do bees do in winter?
They stay home.
And it’s my job to make sure everything’s ready.
Until Tuesday.
Breadcrumbs…
Not a map.
Chau,
Len
During Winter 2022-23, an estimated 37.4% of managed honeybee colonies in the United States were lost. Over the entire year, 48.2%. Reference: https://beeinformed.org/2023/06/22/united-states-honey-bee-colony-losses-2022-23-preliminary-results-from-the-bee-informed-partnership/