Spring brings a lot of buzz with honeybees. In the winter they cluster together to stay warm, and the worker bees vibrate their bodies to generate heat.

The queen bee rests all warm and comfy with temperatures ranging from 90 to 100 degrees, not too bad for the royal treatment. The cluster has two parts which are a dense outer mantle and a loose inner core where the bees have more room to move around. The cluster expands or contracts depending on the temperature.

Winter is the hardest season for the bees with the greatest loss and even the best beekeepers can encounter challenges to keep the colony alive. However, as in everything with nature, it is part of the cycle of survival. Winter survival depends mainly on food storage or if the colony enters the winter with a virus or disease.

Once Spring begins to emerge and temperatures begin to rise above 65 degrees the days begin to lengthen sources of pollen and nectar emerge for the brood. As Spring progresses the colony expands with the pronation of young bees and field worker bees begin to collect the nectar and pollen to expand and nourish the colony.

There is a lot of activity in the colony as the queen increases drone egg-laying for the worker bees and drones while the bees prepare for a new queen. The royal kitchen is busy in the hive with a few bees that have been selected for the higher court and fed a special gland food called “Royal Jelly’” and the rate of development accelerates. The number of queen cells varies with races and strains as the new queen or queens emerge.

The colonies are still busy as new combs are produced for honey storage. The royal court assembles for the new queen to emerge and before the nectar begins to flow the colony will swarm during the warmer hours of daylight while the old queen and her entourage fly to the limb of a tree and begin scouting for a new home to assemble.

The remaining bees are the parents of the colony and work the fields to collect nectar, pollen and water plus they care for eggs, larvae and food and guard the entrance. The emerging drones receive nourishment for a population to mate with the queen. When she emerges, she has nourished herself because she has rivals for the queen position. Alas, mortal combat begins, and it becomes survival of the fittest.

The queen that survives flies out about a week later to mate with one or more drones in the air. The males do not survive this intense ritual, but the queen returns to the nest as the queen mother and shortly begins to lay eggs while she is being cared for by nurse bees.

Honey bee trivia

They can fly up to 15 miles per hour. A worker bee makes an average of 1 and ½ teaspoons in a lifetime and a pound of honey is made by two million flower visits. Honey bees are the only bee to produce food for humans. They visit 50 to 100 flowers in one trip.

Honey is a natural energy booster, a mixture of minerals, and antioxidants, is antibacterial and works in preventing fatigue, and can boost athletic performance. Honey bees do not typically sting unless threatened
Live, love life and honey bees.