Getting ready for winter

Our bees have wound down and are holed up for the winter. During the winter our bees huddle in the middle of their respective hives and buzz against each other, creating friction that produces life-preserving heat. In the same way that penguins huddle together and work their way outward from the warm center to the cold edge of the mass, honeybees cycle in and out of the mass taking turns alternately warming themselves and then other honeybees. This is but one amazing example of the social instinct that supports the cooperative social order of each honeybee hive, allowing them to live and thrive. We are told bees that hatch just before and during early winter will typically live up to 6 months. This is great for honeybees since the hives energies must be focused on producing heat and not on producing brood if the colony is to survive the winter. This compares with a typical 6 WEEK lifespan among honeybees born during the spring and summer when most foraging takes place (they work so hard in the summer).