Hi Tinkerbell! Here's the quick & long answer. *QUICK:* The huddle/cluster together vibrating to create warmth and keep the queen in the center.. *LONG:* It takes 21 days to make a worker bee and spring/summer worker lives about 4 weeks. In late summer the queen creates winter bees that live as long as 4 months and are indistinguishable from spring/summer workers beyond the difference in life span. There also must be a good set of conditions present going into winter such as; Number of bees, available food, low mite count, if these are not optimal, then the colony is not likely to survive. A good beekeeper can help ensure this conditions exist going into winter, but a colony can still die. Obviously the southern states have much warmer and shorter cold conditions than we do up here, so the beeks in the south can get away with preparing less than we can. Thanks for watching!
@@theunlikelybeek Here in Texas, I don't think anyone really winterizes their bees. They just make sure there's ample honey and/or feed sugar water. I don't miss living up north in the cold lol
Yes, over wintering bees in the south is a piece of cake compared to the north. I usually have a good idea which colonies will & won't make it through. Thanks for watching!
It will eventually stay lit, right around the time I'm about to leave, so I have to transport it home in a sealed ash can, so it doesn't look like my car is on fire. LOL
