Do Bees Hibernate in the Winter?
The short answer is No, bees do not hibernate in the Winter. Instead, bees remain active during the Winter months here in the Phoenix metro area.
Although bee activity slows down when it’s cold outside, they will come out to forage if and when temperatures warm up enough on certain Winter days.
Of course, bees are very active during Spring and Summer when they spend the vast majority of their time foraging for pollen, nectar, and water.
What do Bees do in their Hives During Winter?
Since Bees do not hibernate nor do they go into a deep sleep during the Winter months, they instead create a cluster around the queen and vibrate their wing muscles, day and night, to keep her and her brood, warm. That is because the worker bees top priority is to protect and care for their queen.
However, the task of keeping their queen warm via worker bees vibrating their wings on a continuous basis, requires a great deal of energy as it burns calories. This means that the hive must have an adequate supply of honey for those worker bees to eat.
At what Temperature do bees begin to cluster in their hive?
When the outdoor temperature drops to at or below 57 degrees Fahrenheit, bees should begin to cluster within the hive.
So, there you have it…during the Winter months bees must keep warm. They must also maintain an adequate supply of food (honey) that provides them the energy to keep warm and thus survive until Spring. Without an adequate supply of food stored in the hive, the bees would surely die.