Where Do The Bees Go in Winter?

Most people; whether friends, family or acquaintances will greet me by saying hello to Marley first, then me and then most commonly will ask “how are the bees?”. Its a lovely question to be asked and can be answered in so many ways - and in great detail if the query was not just out of politeness but from genuine interest!

In the summer I tend to answer with “oh they’re doing great” or “just buzzing"!” or “busy making lots of honey” etc but in the winter it’s a lot harder to answer, you see I don’t get to be with them very often in the winter as they’re not out flying, they’re not collecting nectar or pollen and not building the colony by thousands of bees a day, instead they are in a semi-hibernation called torpor.

For context; the year of the honey bee can be simplified into the following:

Spring - they are increasing the colony (with the queen laying potentially thousands of eggs each day which after three weeks become bees), starting to collect food (nectar and pollen) and water and building extensions to their home in the form of new comb if needed.

Late Spring/ Early Summer - the colony has increased at quite a rate so they can start to swarm if there isn’t enough room in the hive. They continue to collect food and water, and building extensions to their home. This will continue throughout Summer.

Late Summer - eggs are still being laid but not as fast as earlier in the year, the hive will hopefully be busting with supplies to get them through winter.

Autumn - as the temperature drops so does the activity. There is less to forage and the focus is on getting ready for the winter. The bees born during this time will generally live longer than the summer bees (potentially months rather than weeks) as they will be less active than their sisters but play an essential role in colony survival.

Winter - time to hunker down and keep safe and warm within the hive. I’ll explain more in a mo.

Late Winter/ Early Spring - once the weather starts to warm the colony activity will start to increase; often with more going on inside than the beekeeper can observe because it’s still too cold to open the hive (we can get an idea of what is going on inside by observing the entrance).

I live in awe of the bee, I have so many books about them and try to continually increase my knowledge but there’s always something new to be understood or a different view to be considered. Throughout the summer months the continued education comes in the form of practical observation and questioning why one colony may behave to a situation in a different way to another…….

…Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to have a conversation with a bee and ask them directly why they do the things they do and how do they feel about their living conditions; do they feel?

Right, back to the question - where do bees go in winter? As far as I understand it the spend winter in a state called torpor, this is a form of hibernation where basically the body goes into a sleepy state but isn’t fully out for the count. If the temperature is too low outside the hive then the bee isn’t able to fly, keep herself warm or survive. Also there isn’t much to forage in the winter months for the bees as most flowers have also hidden away from the cold so really there is little point for the bees to leave the hive, especially if they have plenty of food stored away inside.

Well there is one reason to leave …. a comfort break! Honey bees will cross their legs (not literally) and wait to go to relieve themselves until it is warm enough outside to briefly do their business before returning to the colony feeling much more comfortable! They are very tidy and clean creatures and so don’t tend to do their business inside the hive unless they’re poorly.

If you were to look inside a hive during winter you are likely to see all of the bees huddled together. They will be working to keep themselves and their home warm whilst feeding from stores and protecting the queen. The queen will likely be in the centre of the bundle of bees, occasionally laying some eggs but for the majority of the time having a well earned rest after producing tens of thousands of children the previous season. Surrounding the queen will be the older bees and then surrounding them will be the younger bees.

The younger bees on the outside of the cuddle-fest will use their wing muscles to create heat, they do this by rubbing the muscles together to create friction. Every so often they will swap with a bee that is further into the bundle and have a rest. I like to think that they also jiggle because they need the loo and this also creates some heat!! This will continue until they start to feel the spring heat on their hive from the outside, with warmth and light joining them through the entrance and encouraging them to venture out and explore.

And so it begins again, the temperature rises, the flowers start to open and the bees begin to fly.

Remember honey bees are one of several hundred bee species in the UK so this is just how they behave but hopefully it helps to answer the question of where at least the honey bees have gone this winter. For the beekeeper it means we get some downtime from inspections whilst giving us the time to reflect on what we could do better and to get our spare hives and equipment ready for spring….. I also like to spend some of this time cuddled up, keeping warm and eating- to feel closer to the bees of course!