The Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
It’s #winter. The buzzing has stopped - mostly.
So what’s happened to all the #bees?
You’ve been asking…so a quick thread to broadly account for our little friends at this time of year.
Please #boost and #share.
You know the drill.
The more informed the better for bees. 1/13
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024

And they do need better from us!

Spoiler alert!
Bumbles - new queens in hibernation.
Solitaries - kids in cocoons.
Honeys - small ball of hot hive-bound bees.

So let’s start with honey #bees and get them out of the way as you know they’re not really our thing here.
2/13

Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
#Honeybees don’t hibernate. They reduce the colony numbers but stay active within the hive.
As temperatures drop (below 50ºF) they form a cluster (ball of bees) in the hive in order to use body heat primarily to keep the queen alive. This cluster will have a densely…
3/13
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
…packed ‘outer shell’ of bees surrounding a less tightly packed inner core and requires a lot of honey and body vibrating to maintain the heat required for survival - up to 100ºF in the centre. #Honeybee worker life expectancy increases greatly during the winter from…
4/13
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024

…around 6 weeks during the summer to up to 6 months over winter due mainly to the lower work load. Male honey bees don’t do winter - dying off before the colony retreat to the hive! In warmer climes the colony works all year round.

Next up we have the solitary #bees.
5/13

Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
After mating in spring/summer the female will have prepared a nest into which she will have laid her eggs in individual pods/cells - fertilised eggs will become females and unfertilised eggs often laid nearer the nest entrance will become males. She will have provisioned…
6/13
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
…these pods with food before sealing them up. The males and females will have died off shortly afterwards leaving the kids to ‘fend for themselves’. The eggs hatch and the larvae will eat the food provided and develop into adults while overwintering in their pods/cocoons…
7/13
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024

…which is where they are now.

And finally to the big girls of the bee world - the bumbles.
Towards the end of summer #bumblebee nests come to a natural end - the males, female workers and old queen die leaving just the new queens alive. These queens feed up and go into…
8/13

Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
…#hibernation (some for as long as 9 months!). They will dig their own hibernaculum usually in loose well drained soil on a north-facing bank (banks are less likely to flood and north-facing means that they are less likely to emerge too early due to unseasonable sunny…
9/13
Show threadThe Bee Guy
…days heating the soil over the winter). They will dig down about 4/5 inches into the soil and when comfortable enter a dormant state. During hibernation glycerol in the #bumblebee body acts like antifreeze preventing water in the bee body turning to ice. Other preferred…
10/13
Nov 10, 2024 at 12:05pmWeb
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024

…#hibernation sites include inside tree hollows, under bark, beneath fallen #leaves, #compost heaps and even in plant pots - so be vigilant in your #garden!

In the #UK and #ireland we are now increasingly seeing ‘winter active’ #bumblebees specifically Buff-tailed bumbles.
11/13

Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
This phenomenon and how to help bees over the #winter I will cover in a separate thread.
Hope this has helped increase your understanding of #bees a little.
Thread is a generalisation and there are variances between species and regions.
Please share among your crew.
#boost 🙏🏼
12/13
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024
In a world that appears ever more divided, ever more angry, ever more willing to embrace the obvious annihilistic option we refuse to give up on the premise that most #people are #decent. That most people care deeply.
Maybe we can unite over #bees.
Do the right thing for once.
Make the good choice.
Maybe?
Please share this thread far and wide.
#boost
We know you #care.
Show us.
Show one another.
Show the #bees you care.
It’s okay to care.
It’s more fulfilling than hate.
13/13 Part 1.
Show threadThe Bee GuyNov 10, 2024

…More natural than vitriol
More infectious than Covid.
More godly than prayer.
More active than hope.
More powerful than greed.
Don’t be afraid to #care.
Deeply.
Openly.
You’ll find you’re not alone.
Promise.

Thanks for reading this.
For sticking with it to the end.
Have the best day you can folks.
🐝🙏🏼💚 #bees
13/13 Part 2.

Show threadAstridNov 10, 2024
@thebeeguy thank you!
Show threadCarolyn JewelNov 10, 2024
@thebeeguy I recently learned that 66% of native California bee species live underground! This includes bumblebees. So now I’m more mindful about not disturbing places that look like they might harbor bees. And leaving some areas undisturbed.