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Did you know?
That there are more books about bees published in the world than on any other subject.
That honey is the one food source humans can live on.
That it is the only food made by insects that humans eat.
Well, just a few tidbits before going on with this story -
What’s going on in the hive right now?
It’s still wet and cold out, the days are getting longer. By the beginning of March there’s two hours more daylight than at the winter solstice, the bees are breaking their cluster and spreading out. They snuggle up into a ball all winter and generate heat by vibrating their wing muscles. Even though it got down to zero several days in January, inside the cluster the temperature was 60 degrees.
During winter the cluster slowly moves upward in the hive eating their stores of honey. A normal hive will consume several pounds of honey a month. If they get to the top and its too cold, they won’t break cluster and can starve, even with ample stores of honey inches away.
By the end of Feb., the queen has started laying eggs and the workers warm the hive to about 94 degrees to keep the eggs and brood warm. Winter bees live up to eight months, sometimes longer. Summer bees only last about six weeks. It takes three weeks for an egg to develop as a worker. By mid March the first batch of young emerge to replace their aging sisters.
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With more bees, they can warm larger areas of the hive and the queen has more space to lay eggs. If we get a late freeze, thousands of young girls can be lost if there’s not enough sisters to keep them warm.
This is the most dangerous time of year for a hive. Food stores are low and pollen and honey scarce, even though the maples, willows and crocus are budding. If the weather stays too damp or chilly, the bees aren’t able to go out and forage. The honeybee’s wing muscles will not work below 50 degrees, their leg muscles stop working below 40. Any disease or weakness gets compounded in the dampness as they struggle to re-supply their depleted stocks and raise their young. Bees will not defecate in the hive unless ill. They can hold their waste for months and then on a warm sunny day in late Jan or Feb. they’re out leaving little yellow-brown droplets in the snow or on your car.
But then comes the dandelion. My favorite time of year. Any hive still alive, once the dandelions come, will almost certainly make it the rest of the year. The hives become a flurry of activity as the winter bees become foragers and the new ones take on the job of nursing and caring for the young. The hive can increase in size 4 to 5 times during this period. The cherry trees and soon apples will blossom. As the days get warmer, the hive is alive with activity. Cleansing flights and orientation flights abound. A new season has begun.
Rich has been a beekeeper for eight years and manages over 60 hives in the Detroit Metro area. A member of Southeast Michigan Beekeepers (SEMBA) and Michigan Beekeepers Association, he markets his and other Michigan honey at the Royal Oak Farmers Market the first and third Saturday of every month year round. |
