How Do Honey Bees Survive the Cold?

Honey bees are remarkable creatures. They have an unparallel sense of community, as well as a work ethic to aspire towards. However, like most animals, the change of the seasons is what they’re always working towards. Honey Bees Roofing & Solar loves honey bees and wants to share more about these incredible insects. Today we’ll explain how honey bees survive the cold.

A Steady Supply

Once sugar sources, like nectar from flowers, start to dwindle bees will close up the hive for the winter. The main ingredient to honey bee’s success during the winter is their honey supplies. They spend all year making an excessive amount of honey so they’ll have enough to make it through the winter. If they don’t have enough honey to make it through the winter, the bees will run out of energy and freeze to death. However, bees have been doing this for thousands of years so it’s not a common occurrence.

Honey Bee Clusters

With a solid amount of honey, and the temperatures dropping, the honey bees close the hive. Then they cluster together around the queen bee and the rest of the brood. The honey bees on the outside of the cluster will start to vibrate their thoraxes. The heat that is given off from the movement is enough to keep the whole colony warm. The bees can also tighten or loosen around the cluster to let more or less air through to keep the ideal temperature all season. Working together the bees can keep the center of the cluster at 93 degrees Fahrenheit. Through the winter the honey bees will slowly move around the hive to eat honey and keep up the vibrations. The honey allows them to stay warm all winter long.

What About Bee Keepers?

If honey bees need as much honey as they can get to survive the cold, why do beekeepers take their honey? Bees are actually so good at their jobs they typically make more honey than needed over the summer. The average hive can produce more than 200 pounds of honey during the course of a year. Beekeepers can actually take between 30 and 60m pounds of honey without threatening the colony’s ability to survive the winter. To ensure a colony’s survival most bee keepers leave more honey than the bees will need to make it through. By keeping track of how much honey a keeper takes from the bees, they can make sure the colony will be producing honey for years to come.

Honey bees survive the harsh cold of winter by using honey as a fuel source to keep the worker bees vibrating for warmth all winter long. At Honey Bees Roofing & Solar, we strive to be like the noble honey bee. By making sure our work is top of the line as well as efficient, we can ensure we’re doing our best to better our local community. If you need a hardworking roofing contractor for your next project, Contact Honey Bees Roofing & Solar online or give us a call today at 817-668-6131!