How bees survive the cold
The work of bees in winter
Bees are very hardworking insects. The activities that the swarms carry out during the year are truly endless. Bees are operational in any season.
The tasks and chores to take care of, however, vary according to the period of the year. In winter bees almost never leave the hive.
As regards "routine" jobs such as foraging , pollen collection and honey production , bees await the return of summer. Being insects, bees cannot heat their bodies, since their basal temperature adapts to that of the environment in which they live.
So how do bees survive the cold ? Let's find out together!
Heating of the hive
In winter, the situation in the hives becomes very difficult. Swarms that haven't stored enough food for the cold months won't survive.
In fact, in these periods the bees need a lot of energy to provide for the sustenance of the queen bee and the entire colony. As an essential element for survival, we first find an adequate temperature.
The bees use all their strength to heat the hive . Being heterothermic insects, their body temperature is prone to significant changes. Bees, however, possess an extraordinary power of thermoregulation . This function of their body is able to stabilize the body's heat according to the environment and different needs.
Bees perceive all changes in ambient temperature through special thermo receptors located in the antennas. Bees understand the arrival of cold and intercept the drop in temperatures. For this reason they know when to intervene to implement the thermoregulation process.
But how do bees heat the environment and consequently themselves?
To reach an adequate temperature in winter, bees create a real "agglomeration" of individuals. The whole swarm gathers in the heart of the hive. The proximity of the bees to each other generates heat. The queen is placed in the center of the whole swarm, the bees emit intense vibrations through the pectoral muscles and keep their sovereign warm.
When it's cold, bees never stop, in fact, in order not to exhaust the energy available, they feed each other by sharing food with each other. This process is called trophallaxis.
It is very important that the colony has enough honey to survive. A swarm that does not have enough honey supplies for the winter should be helped by adding additional sugary products to replenish energy.
What is the glomere?
The glomere is the word used to define the aggregation of bees when the temperature drops below 10 °.
Through this spherical-shaped structure, bees are able to generate heat and thus avoid death by frostbite.
Bees take a step-by-step process to form this structure. In the first phase, that is the preparatory one, each worker increases the fat reserves and the volume of the hypopharyngeal glands. The queen bee, on the other hand, increases the volume of the ovaries.
At the same time, bees reduce the normal water content in the tissues, by evaporation of liquids through the trachea. The respiration of bees also changes due to the increase in carbon dioxide inside the glomere.
The glomere is created through multiple layers. In the external area we find the older bees, in the central area instead, the young and therefore stronger bees. At the center of everything, as always, the queen.
What bees do in winter
What we often ask ourselves is: what happens inside the hives in winter? One thing is certain, bees never rest!
The commitment to heating is constant since the hive must maintain a temperature of at least 21 ° .
The queen bee in this period lays very few eggs compared to the usual rhythms and conserves as much strength as possible to survive the winter.
Even the life of the drones becomes more difficult. In fact, male bees do not often participate in hive life. The drones interact in the biological mechanisms of the swarm only during the mating phase with the queen.
Throughout the year, the worker bees take care of it, also providing them with the necessary nourishment. In fact, the drones are unable to collect nectar or feed themselves.
In winter it often happens that part of the male bees (not considered indispensable) are excluded from survival processes. Since in winter we do not see the birth of new queen bees and there is no need to mate, the drones are only a burden for the swarm. And on food, you know, bees cannot risk waste, which is why they expel them from the family.
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