Winter brood rearing?

[masterBK]

Bees do not need to see the sun to work out where it is as they can work it out from polarised light patterns from a small patch of clear sky. Bees also have Ocelli to help their brains measure light intensity and photoperiod.

 

[boca]

There is one interesting observation.
A century ago wintering in a cellar was more common than nowadays. In spite of the complete darkness and more or less attenuated temperature variation the families commenced brood rearing in February.

Now I have hives in a cellar which I am going to bring out at the end of February. I'll have a look inside immediately to see if they have brood or not.

 

[beeno]

There is one interesting observation.
A century ago wintering in a cellar was more common than nowadays. In spite of the complete darkness and more or less attenuated temperature variation the families commenced brood rearing in February.

Now I have hives in a cellar which I am going to bring out at the end of February. I'll have a look inside immediately to see if they have brood or not.

We shall all be waiting with bated breath. If there is, who is going to sort that one out?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Maybe there is an intrinsic rhythm?
When I was working I could get up at 6.45am without fail without an alarm irrespective of the time I went to bed. Holidaying once in a borrowed UN flat outside Rome we had to pull down shutters every night plunging the whole place into pitch black darkness. I woke, as usual, at 6.45.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Our time - or theirs, ericA?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Who knows?

 

[boca]

Now I have hives in a cellar which I am going to bring out at the end of February. I'll have a look inside immediately to see if they have brood or not.

I have brought out the hives on the 22nd. On the 26th there was not a single larva but a lot of eggs.

 

[beeno]

Hi Boca,
Thanks for remembering. Well, I had reason to move nuc into full hive and took the opportunity to check for brood. No brood on 17th Feb, but very open polished brood nest, no liquid stores (plenty of capped Ivy), a little bit of newly collected pollen and lots of bees. Will check again at earliest suitable opportunity.

 

[user 6228]

Bees do not need to see the sun to work out where it is as they can work it out from polarised light patterns from a small patch of clear sky. Bees also have Ocelli to help their brains measure light intensity and photoperiod.

You can't work out a winter solstice from photo period alone. Honeybees have been tested for photoperiodic behaviour and they don't have sufficient.
So honeybees restarting at the solstice is down to some thing else

 

[beeno]

Hi again Boca,
Been a lovely day here and I checked the hive in question. Very pleased to report capped brood.

 

[Finman]

I have brought out the hives on the 22nd. On the 26th there was not a single larva but a lot of eggs.

]

I suppose that combs do not have pollen and bees are not able to feed larvae.

 

[beeno]

I suppose that combs do not have pollen and bees are not able to feed larvae.

Apparently, fat bees can feed brood without pollen in frames!

 

[Finman]

Apparently, fat bees can feed brood without pollen in frames!

They do a while and then they must stop. Very common in my hives.

 

[beeno]

Thanks for confirming that little gem Finman.

 

[boca]

Winter bees

Since long ago I have a question I never asked about winter bees.

Assumptions:
1. Winter bees are physiologically different from summer bees, basically they are at the "nurse bee" stage of their life-cycle for several months.
2. Once nurse bees feed brood for a certain period they exhaust themselves and become forager and soon die.

My question: Is the commencement of brood feeding an irreversible transition to the next stage?

If the answer is yes, then a bee feeding brood in February will die by March.

 

[Thymallus]

No, foragers can revert back to nurse bees if the need arises. Need lots of protein in their diet to do so.

 

[Erichalfbee]

If you do a Pagden AS it's practically all you have.
Some folk just move the queen over without the frame she is on.

 

[beeno]

Hi Boca,
In addition to the above all your winter bees will be dead by March/April.

 

[Finman]

Hi Boca,
In addition to the above all your winter bees will be dead by March/April.

When bees start to feed larvae now, first new bees will emerge at the beginning of April.
When colony will have enough new home bees, wintered bees turn to foragers and die in couple of weeks' working.