Ad
related to: can bees survive winter
Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In beekeeping, a winter cluster is a well-defined cluster of honey bees that forms inside a beehive when the air temperature dips below 10 to 14 °C (50 to 57 °F). Honey bees are one of only a few kinds of insects that survive the winter as a colony. As the outside air temperature decreases the winter cluster becomes tighter and more compact.
Honey bee starvation is a problem for bees and beekeepers.Starvation may be caused by unfavorable weather, disease, long distance transportation or depleting food reserve. Over-harvesting of honey (and the lack of supplemental feeding) is the foremost cause for scarcity as bees are not left with enough of a honey store, though weather, disease, and disturbance can also cause problem
While this can protect the colonies from extremes of temperature and make winter care and feeding more convenient for the beekeeper, it increases the risk of dysentery and causes an excessive buildup of carbon dioxide from the bees' respiration. Inside wintering has been refined by Canadian beekeepers, who use large barns solely for the ...
A bee keeper offers tips for gardeners.
The presence of Varroa mites within colonies before winter was observed to weaken the immune systems of bees and introduce viruses that led to colony death during the winter. About 27% of hives did not survive the winter, and the Varroa mite was identified as the cause in 85% of the cases. [84]
African honey bees abscond (abandon the hive and any food store to start over in a new location) more readily than European honeybees. This is not necessarily a severe loss in tropical climates where plants bloom all year, but in more temperate climates it can leave the colony with not enough stores to survive the winter.
When the hive population growth is reduced in preparation for winter or due to poor late summer forage, the mite population growth can overtake that of the bees and can then destroy the hive. It has been observed diseased colonies may slowly die off and be unable to survive through winter even when adequate food stores are present.
European bees must survive the winter, an annual event with predictable mortality outcomes. Trying to meet the energetic needs of the colony and reproduction might decrease their overall survival during the winter and it is more evolutionarily favorable for them to store nectar and honey.
Ad
related to: can bees survive winter