Check in when weather was warm

Here is an image from a video I shot of the home hive. There is plexiglass under the cover so that I can observe the bees without losing the heat that their detached wing muscles vibrate to make. If I were to lift the plexiglass, a wave of warm, moist air would waft out. The white is sugar and fondant to keep the bees full of energy to defeat the cold. They “cluster” together when the temperature drops below 50F outside of the hive to keep the queen and any baby bees warm (around 95F, 70F if there are no baby bees present).

Winter bees feeding on emergency fondant and sugar. They have eaten all the stored honey, and on a warm day (50F+) they will break cluster and renew their body carbohydrate stores. Feeding them inside the hive instead of putting emergency fondant and sugar outside keeps their bodies warm as the inside temperature in the Apimay insulated hive is between 70F and 95F. If they are forced to find food outside and fly too far to get to it in 50F or below, they will probably die before returning to the hive. In winter the quote is “Flying bees are dead bees.”