Bee Adventures - No time to rest

November & December

It is the perfect time of the year to do outside chores. Nice and cool and no bugs.

Wood cutting and stacking, putting away summer accessories, cleaning out the hive.

Contrary to what most people think, bees are always busy in the winter. When weather is mild enough, the bees will discard the dead bees from the hive and do a little housecleaning. They'll also take short flights for water and make sure spring hasn't arrived. They will also continue to kill the drones - the male bees. You see, the drones will only take up space, eat and be lazy. They do no work at all. Because winter means cutting back on resources, the worker bees shoo them away, fighting and killing them, and tumble from the entrance and drag them away. Quite amazing to watch them do it. The picture below was taken on December 25th.

...The weather has been changing drastically. We've had 2 very warm weeks in November, making me wonder if the Bee Cozy was put on too early after all: If the bees are too active, they eat. If it'S cold, they cluster together and stay warm by beating their wings, and rotate from the outside in to keep each of them warm. I've read that the inside of a healthy hive in winter is about 26 degrees.

An early storm on November 1st is a big contrast with the beautiful sunset of December 1st.

I hope my bees are well, happy and cozy !