Dan Greenwood 
Bees are incredible creatures with fascinating behaviors, including their ability to form winter clusters when temperatures drop in colder months. Winter clusters are a critical survival mechanism for honey bees, allowing them to maintain warmth by gathering tightly together inside the beehive. But at what temperature do bees begin to cluster?
The short answer is yes, they do get stung, but how often depends on several factors. The level of experience, protective gear, and the type of bees being kept all play a role in how frequently a beekeeper might get stung. The fact that we keep going back to the hive tells you that it isn’t too bad, so don’t click away just yet.
Just because the occasional sting is inevitable, doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to prevent multiple stings. That’s why we’ve put together this article, to explain what you can do to keep those stings to a minimum.
Honey bees play a crucial role in pollination, and plants such as the mimosa tree can attract and provide resources for these important pollinators. Mimosa trees are known for their distinct, fern-like leaves and showy, fragrant flowers which can bring an added aesthetic element to any landscape.
However, the question remains whether honey bees are attracted to mimosa trees and if these trees are a good source for honey production.
Feeding bees during the winter months can be a challenging task for beekeepers. As the temperature drops, bees become less active and consume more honey to maintain their body heat. Pollen is used primarily for feeding brood which is why, in preparation for winter, bees focus mainly on gathering nectar, which is the fuel they need to stay warm.
Pollen bread, made from pollen and a little nectar by the bees, is usually stored near the brood. As the queen lays fewer eggs during winter, the pollen requirements by the colony at that time are very low.
According to bee expert Prof. Tom Seeley, the ideal entrance hole size should be close to wild bees’ natural preference, which is about 4 square inches, or 10 to 15 square centimeters. Hives with smaller entrance holes may provide benefits such as easier defense against robber bees and reduced energy expenditure for controlling the internal hive temperature.
Additionally, it can impact the hive’s defense against predators and parasites. Selecting the appropriate size for the entrance can contribute to the overall health and productivity of the bee colony.
When it comes to backyard beekeeping, a common question arises: How close can beehives be to a house? The placement of beehives is important not only for the well-being of the bees but also for the safety and convenience of homeowners and their neighbors. With the increasing interest in beekeeping as a hobby and a way to support honeybee populations, understanding the optimal distance for placing beehives is essential.
Several factors should be taken into consideration when deciding where to place your beehives, including the temperament of the bees, the size of your property, and local regulations. Ultimately, the goal is to find a location that provides the bees with the necessary resources while minimizing potential conflicts with human activities.
Beekeeping is an art that requires patience and an understanding of the natural rhythms of honeybees. One crucial aspect of managing a healthy apiary is knowing when and how to split hives. A well-timed hive split can help control swarming, create more colonies, and boost honey production.
However, timing is key. If you split a hive too late in the year, you may jeopardize the health and productivity of the new colony.
That buzzing sound you hear is burning calories. Bees are constantly using up their energy. It’s the primary reason they drop dead 6 weeks after they reach adulthood. They burn energy constantly, especially when foraging. Whilst in the hive, they need to keep the brood warm using their wing muscles to generate heat. Honeybees don’t hibernate so even during the winter, they are still burning those calories.
Archaeologists have found 3000 year old honey that is still edible, so that must mean honey never goes bad, right? Well, yes, if it is stored right. And no one gets it right better than the bees themselves. Bees store honey to get them through months of no nectar. Although honeybees are not indigenous to north America, European honey bees, like those from Russia have to go four months or more without nectar. So if there’s a wild swarm, they can’t afford to have honey that spoils in days or weeks.
With that in mind, capped honey frames can be stored for years, if you can replicate the conditions in a wild hive. Living in a tree has some significant perks. The thick walls of the tree keep it insulated against both excessive heat and extreme low condition. The tree trunk helps to absorb excess moisture and the swarm is constantly guarding the comb so pests dont get a chance to destroy it.
When a swarm first finds a home, they need to work fast to take advantage of those spring blooms. They don’t last forever. For that reason, bees are wired to build comb pretty fast so the queen can lay eggs, providing the colony with the bee power it needs to collect and store nectar.
Comb building requires a lot of energy from the bee, which is replenished primarily by nectar. The more nectar available, the faster they build. In general, it takes between 7 days to 2 months for bees to produce honeycomb and fill it with honey, but there’s a little more to it than that. A populous established colony, during a strong honey flow, can achieve this task more quickly, while smaller and weaker colonies may take longer to build comb under similar conditions.
Let’s begin by diving a little deeper into what honeycomb is and does.