03/07/2026
The snow is almost gone and temperatures are becoming spring like...some days. Crocuses and daffodils are peaking out. And the bees are flying on days that are 45 degrees or warmer.
Many people ask me what bees do in the winter. No, they do not hibernate. They huddle together for warmth in a round ball of bees called a "cluster". The queen is in the middle of the cluster where the bees generate enough warmth to keep her at 90 - 95 degrees F.
The warmth from the hives melts the snow at the entrance so the bees can fly in and out. I usually worry about this and this year I trekked out to the hives twice, in snowshoes, to make sure the entrance was clear of snow. A weak hive, one that does not have enough bees in it to generate enough heat to keep the hive warm, will not survive the winter. This year, even with temperatures between 0 and 32, almost all are alive and ready to feed on the early blooming trees, flowers and almost anything that blooms.
