Curious about where do bees go in the winter? Then read below to find out.
Bees are hardworking insects that work all summer to gather enough reserves to provide for their new-borns and survive the rest of the year. They collect honey from flowers. Such beautiful scenarios make photographers go crazy to pick up their macro lenses and click photos.
They help our gardens and trees blooming with their hard work. They are the silent caretaker of our gardens. But isn’t it strange to see no honey bees in the Winter? Why do they disappear in the cold winter? Why don’t they come out? Where do they go? Well, let us answer these questions hovering in our minds about our little honey friends.
Why do we see no Honey Bees in Winter?
No matter how hard you look, you won’t see any honey bees flying, collecting honey for their hives. The main reason is that their hives are already filled with honey and other necessaries like pollen. That is why they are not required to collect any honey in the winter. But even if they do need to collect honey in the winter, they can’t. That’s because, Honey bees cannot survive in the cold winter. That’s right; our little honey collecting friends cannot take care of our garden in the winter because they cannot bear the cold. Especially when the temperature is under 100C. That’s why they disappear in the winter.
Also Read: What Do Deer Eat in the Winter?
Where do Honey Bees disappear in the Winter?
Honey Bees cannot bear the cold of the winter, especially when the temperature is under 100C. They disappear, retreat to their hive. There they form a winter cluster to keep warm. The cluster contains bees from different classes and multiple generations. If we divide the bees according to their social life/ work, we will see 3 classes. Worker bees, Drone bees and Queen.
Worker bees gather honey to feed the new-borns in the hive. One hive generally has thousands of worker bees and hundreds of drone bees. In the winter, the male bees/ Drone bees die off, leaving only the female bees to maintain the hive and keep it warm. The center of the hive is occupied by the queen bee. The temperature at the center can reach from 320C to 370C.
Where do Honey Bees build their hive?
Bees build their hives in different places based on their species. The main goal of all of them is to protect the queen and the larva inside. That’s why they choose higher spots, like trees, vertical structures, places that are generally unreachable by humans.
The hive’s secondary purpose is to survive the winter by gathering bees to generate heat with movements. To further improve the heating process, they prefer places that are protected from wind blows. But it is totally opposite for Asian Honey bees. They build their hive in open space like tree branches.
How do Honey Bees keep the hive warm?
In the winter, honey bees gather in the hive they created and stored foods throughout the warm weather. There they stack up with each other to form a large cluster to keep each other warm. All bees here are worker bees and in the center is the queen of the hive. The queen is also known as the mother of the hive.
Now you may ask yourself that if bees are cold blooded, how do they keep the hive warm without any internal heat from the body?
Bees in the cluster just don’t stack themselves in the hive and stay asleep. They are more active there. They continuously shake and shiver their body in the hive. These shaking and shivering generates heat which helps to maintain the hive temperature and it stays warm. The center of the hive can easily hit the temperature of from 320C to 370C.
Do Bees hibernate?
As bees disappear in the winter and retreat into their hive to come out after winter, you may compare this with hibernation. But no, bees do not hibernate. Here is why.
What is hibernation? It is a period in which animals or other living species go into a dormant state, limiting all metabolic activities in the body to survive for a long period of time without starving to death. The goal is mainly to survive the winter by keeping yourself warm and accompanied with food and energy in the body.
Now let’s analyze what bees do in their hives during winter. In Winter, bees gather into their hives to stay warm and survive the cold winter. The other goal of it is to protect their larva and keep them warm. Bees are cold blooded. So if they go into a dormant state, there will be no heat and they will die with their larvae. So bees don’t stay dormant, rather they stay active throughout the winter in their hives.
That takes away the main requirement of hibernating, a dormant state. Moreover, in hibernating, the animal/living being must supply their body with the food and energy reserved in their body. But in winter, bees power their body with the honey stored in the hive.
So now that we know the requirements of hibernation, we can conclude that Bees don’t hibernate.
Also Read: When to Plant Winter Wheat?
Why do we see some Honey bees active in Winter?
There have been some reports about spotting active honey bees and bumble bees during winter. What is the cause behind this unnatural behavior? Well, the main cause behind this is the rapid shift in climate change.
Climate change has a devastating effect on the seasonal pattern and thus the wild life. Because of climate change, the temperature may still remain warm in winter and that is why we can see active honey bees flying around.
Conclusion
Bees are an important part of the nature. They help in blooming and pollinating trees and flowers. This ultimately affects the eco system and food chain of all living animals including humans. So it is important for bees to survive. Some bees may die naturally like the drone bees. But others survive throughout the winter to protect the next generation of bees. So next time when you see a bee hive, try not to throw a stone at it.