What do honeybees do in the winter? No, they don’t hibernate like bears in a cave! In fact, honeybees stay active all winter long - but they don’t leave their hive unless the outside temperature is 50 degrees or higher, and they only leave to eliminate waste. Otherwise, the entire colony forms a “cluster” - like a basketball - with the queen in the center. The queen stays nice and toasty at 95 degrees and the outside of the cluster is about 65 degrees. The honeybees on the outside of the cluster take turns moving to the center to warm up. The cluster moves around inside the hive consuming honey. In the coldest months, the queen stops laying eggs, but around February the queen starts ramping up her egg laying. By April, the population in the hive has grown exponentially and the colony now has a big work force to forage nectar and pollen when the dandelions and maple trees start blooming. Usually worker bees live 4-6 weeks but worker bees emerging in August are raised on honey which gives them more fat bodies and enables them to live through winter, as long as 4-6 months.
How many bees are in a cluster?