Winter Bees

Generally speaking, how much activity will bees exhibit during the winter? What I mean is with warm temperatures will bees build comb or any hive building activities especially if fed sugar cake all winter? Or is what you have now going to be all there is till spring no matter what you do? Just curious. Thanks, John

Bees are done for this year. They will cluster like a swarm this winter and feed. The queen will start to lay again in Jan. from what I gather.

The bees will cluster any time the temp in the hive is less than 45F or so, and mostly just hang around when its warmer. They will not build any comb to speak of and will raise minimal brood until the days start getting longer.

They will fly on warm days after it gets above about 50 in the hive for cleansing flights and to collect water, but since there is no nectar around here, won't bring any nectar or pollen back until the willows and maples bloom in Feb.

Doesn't matter if you feed them, they know it's winter. If they have adequate stores, sugar blocks or anything else is waste effort on your part, they will pretty much ignore it until it warms up in the spring, at which point they typically are collecting things outside.

Different story if they are short on stores, they will starve without help.

Peter

Today my girls where collecting pollen from the dandelions in my back it was barely 55 degrees wet and raining off and on.