Table 12 - Bee Winter
Starting in October, the honeybee colony gradually enters a state of quiet. Food has been becoming scarce since August, and the hive shows a declining trend. The colony no longer needs foraging bees when it is cold and dark outside. The first winter bees already emerge in August and live for up to six months. In comparison, a summer worker lives only about six weeks! During the long and cold winter months, the workers have one main task: to warm the nest and the queen. The winter bee colony reduces to a fifth of its summer size: a bee colony has about 10,000 bees in winter – whereas in summer it has around 50,000!
And what about the wild bees? Only a few species survive the winter as mature adults, such as bumblebees (see info box). Most wild bees simply overwinter as pupae. Some spring bee species do emerge in the fall but remain in the brood chamber until spring.
The secret life of bees in winter
Winter cluster
When honey bees huddle closely together in the winter, the beekeeper calls it a "winter cluster". Inside it is the queen, well protected at around 25-30 °C. To avoid freezing, the worker bees rotate from the outside to the inside. Their honey stores help them survive these efforts. Only on sunny days in February, with more than 12 °C outside temperature, do the bees start their first flights to empty their bowels. As temperatures rise again, they search for early bloomers to raise their growing brood for the summer.
Climate change and its consequences
Too warm for bees
Due to global warming, winters are not always consistently cold. Warm periods disturb the bees, often breaking up the winter cluster, but when they venture out, they find nothing. This unnecessarily costs energy and weakens the colony.
Thermal Tactics: Adaptation Strategies for Summer and Winter!
Tactics against Heat and Frost Animals, plants, and insects have developed very different tactics to adapt to warmth and cold. For example, the little spring fur bee simply grew a thick coat! Now think and compare: How do you adapt to extreme temperatures in summer and winter?
Winter hardiness testing
A harsh winter for bumblebees
Wild bees hibernate alone (solitary) and, depending on the species, have a significantly longer winter break than honey bees. This means that their retreat space must remain undisturbed during this long period (sometimes from September to May). For bumblebees, for example, only one out of ten bumblebee queens survives the winter.
THE FAST ONE
Spring Hairy Bee
– Anthophora plumipes –
- Features: 15 mm large, robust and very hairy body, strikingly long proboscis for collecting nectar in deep flower cups, "leg collector"
- Habitat: loves steep riverbanks, sand, gravel and clay pits, but also dry stone walls and gardens
- Behavior: It lives alone (solitary) or socially in colonies. Its lightning-fast flight is only interrupted by abrupt turns and short hovering phases. The nest is found in clay soils and dry wall crevices. Nesting site and feeding ground are often up to 100 m apart.
- Observation Tip: not picky about flower choice, often found on lungwort and colt's foot, patrolling males in spring – at breakneck speed and in tight circles around the food plants and the nesting sites of females
- Observation Period: March to mid-June