Hudding, clustering, vibrating, hibernating...
In winter, bees adapt to survive the cold in varying ways.
Honeybees: In winter, the male drones die off, leaving only the female workers and the queen. The all-female bees form a tight cluster (with the queen at the core/warmest spot), and then begin shaking and shivering to maintain a temperature of about 95 degrees F. The outer bees insulate the inner bees, rotating positions so that each bee gets a turn in the warmer center.
Throughout the cold months, the bees rely on the honey they stored during the warmer seasons. They move around the hive to access different honey reserves, breaking and reforming the cluster as needed.
Unlike in the summer, bees won’t leave the hive to forage for nectar and pollen. They enter a kind of semi-hibernation where they conserve energy, relying solely on stored honey for food.
Bee Species Differences: While honeybees overwinter in hives, other bees like bumblebees and solitary bees have different strategies.
Solitary bees (mason bees) often spend winter as pupae in their nests, waiting for spring to emerge. Also known as 'torpor', hibernation allows them to conserve food and use less energy.
Bumblebee queens (newly mated) survive the winter by hibernating underground in small burrows, loose soil, banks of earth, or sometimes flowerpots. Bumblebee queens hibernate alone, typically underground, while other members of the colony die off. Before hibernating, they eat lots of pollen and nectar to build up fat stores and then enter a state called diapause, where her metabolism slows and she doesn't eat or move much.
When the temperatures warm in spring, the queen emerges from hibernation and begins searching for a suitable nesting site to establish a new colony. She then lays her first batch of eggs and cares for the larvae herself until they mature into worker bees.
Honeybees: In winter, the male drones die off, leaving only the female workers and the queen. The all-female bees form a tight cluster (with the queen at the core/warmest spot), and then begin shaking and shivering to maintain a temperature of about 95 degrees F. The outer bees insulate the inner bees, rotating positions so that each bee gets a turn in the warmer center.
Throughout the cold months, the bees rely on the honey they stored during the warmer seasons. They move around the hive to access different honey reserves, breaking and reforming the cluster as needed.
Unlike in the summer, bees won’t leave the hive to forage for nectar and pollen. They enter a kind of semi-hibernation where they conserve energy, relying solely on stored honey for food.
Bee Species Differences: While honeybees overwinter in hives, other bees like bumblebees and solitary bees have different strategies.
Solitary bees (mason bees) often spend winter as pupae in their nests, waiting for spring to emerge. Also known as 'torpor', hibernation allows them to conserve food and use less energy.
Bumblebee queens (newly mated) survive the winter by hibernating underground in small burrows, loose soil, banks of earth, or sometimes flowerpots. Bumblebee queens hibernate alone, typically underground, while other members of the colony die off. Before hibernating, they eat lots of pollen and nectar to build up fat stores and then enter a state called diapause, where her metabolism slows and she doesn't eat or move much.
When the temperatures warm in spring, the queen emerges from hibernation and begins searching for a suitable nesting site to establish a new colony. She then lays her first batch of eggs and cares for the larvae herself until they mature into worker bees.