My Blue Heron bees are flying in the 50 degree weather. I am so relieved. It's not time to assume they will be alive in March, however. We have strange months in January, February and March. Some of the coldest weather I can remember in my 30 years in Atlanta has happened in March. So we're not out of the woods, but wow, it feels good to see them flying.
The winter bee at this time of year is an old lady. Winter bees in our climate may live as long as 150 days. So these bees have been alive much longer than the 6 week life of their summer sisters. They do look happy to be outdoors again, don't they!
The winter bee has a very different life experience than her summer sisters. She has never felt the joy of following a waggle dance and actually finding the nectar source; she has never felt the pollen particles all over her hairy body parts; she has never felt the satisfaction of sucking the nectar from the heart of a flower and delivering it home to the hive.
Instead she has spent her days clenching her thoracic muscles in an effort to keep the temperature constant in the hive. According to Winston, the physiology of the winter bee is different from the summer bee. The winter bee has well-developed hypopharyngeal glands and fat bodies from consuming pollen in the fall. This feature helps them live through the winter.
Nonetheless, it's interesting to me that her life experience is so different from that of her sisters.
It's so relaxing to see all the bees coming and going in the relief of the warmer temperatures. I'll take food to this hive over the weekend.
The winter bee at this time of year is an old lady. Winter bees in our climate may live as long as 150 days. So these bees have been alive much longer than the 6 week life of their summer sisters. They do look happy to be outdoors again, don't they!
The winter bee has a very different life experience than her summer sisters. She has never felt the joy of following a waggle dance and actually finding the nectar source; she has never felt the pollen particles all over her hairy body parts; she has never felt the satisfaction of sucking the nectar from the heart of a flower and delivering it home to the hive.
Instead she has spent her days clenching her thoracic muscles in an effort to keep the temperature constant in the hive. According to Winston, the physiology of the winter bee is different from the summer bee. The winter bee has well-developed hypopharyngeal glands and fat bodies from consuming pollen in the fall. This feature helps them live through the winter.
Nonetheless, it's interesting to me that her life experience is so different from that of her sisters.
It's so relaxing to see all the bees coming and going in the relief of the warmer temperatures. I'll take food to this hive over the weekend.
You know, I never thought about it -- with a life span so short, a bee really only knows one season. Imagine it as a human . . . wow.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting, I had a similar reaction...which was, that's a lot of dead bees every year.
ReplyDeleteWe are sure having a beautiful weekend, aren't we? I know your Bees are loving it! I never thought or knew how different the winter bee is. But oh, so important, huh?
ReplyDelete50 degs? My bees would be so happy. They are currently under about 2 feet of snow and in sub zero temperatures.
ReplyDelete