How Summer Weather Conditions Impact Honey Bees’ Survival in Winter
Fascinating facts about nature and sustainability
Credit: This article is based on two scientific articles by Martina Calovi and Erin Wilson Rankin and their colleagues. (Full citation and link available at the end of the article)
Honey bees are important pollinators that stay alive during the winter months. They stop gathering nectar and pollen during this period, and rely on the stores in their honeycomb. This as opposed to wasps, who often don’t survive winter because they don’t have enough to eat. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, summer weather plays an important role for their survival in the winter. This is why:
Temperature
The temperature in summer is important for bees, as it influences how many flowers grow during the plant growing season. Both with too hot and too cold summers, there are fewer flowers from which they can collect pollen for proteins and nectar for carbohydrates. With fewer flowers, they can collect less nectar. As they store this nectar as food during the winter, too hot and too cold summers mean honey bees may not be able to store enough food.
Also the length of a hot summer affects whether honey bees survive the winter. Longer hot summers can help varroa…
