The people you meet and friends made through beekeeping are priceless. Little did I know several years ago when a friend of a friend contacted me with questions about keeping bees, that Maria Matthews, her husband Michael and son, Michael Elijah, who live on farm in Columbiana County, Ohio, would become part of my beekeeping experience.

Fast forward, four years, I think, and the Matthews are experienced beekeepers who continue to learn and expand their apiary, but now they are the ones dispensing information. Maria homeschools her son, and now works with other homeschoolers to teach about honeybees, their life cycle, and importance to the humankind's food supply among other things. 

And what a wonderful way for son, Michael Elijah, to learn. Self-study, guided by mom and dad, and then put to actual use in the bee yard. Every child should be so lucky to learn about what interests them in this way.

But Maria is not satisfied just educating her son. Maria recently put together a short article to help explain the life cycle of the honeybee; specifically during the winter and early spring season, to her homeschooling group. I asked Maria if I could share it here and was greeted with an enthusiastic, “Yes! I am humbled that you asked this of me!” 

Enjoy! 

“Helping bees to survive is a blessing,” Maria explained. “It has allowed my family to humbly observe the wonderful creation of God. I fell in love with the idea of beekeeping back in my country of Venezuela 30 years ago, when one day my uncle invited me to his field of sunflowers to show me why he was planting flowers. He had hives in there and his passionate talk was contagious. I wish he could see me now; maybe he does from heaven. I want to keep his passionate talk alive, to teach my son and maintain alive this legacy, doing something this important for me and for them...the bees.

I wrote this article for our homeschool group, those who are interested in bees, beekeepers or not, who want to know a little about what happens with the happy bees during winter and the beginning of spring.

After the bees fill their storage for winter in the fall, the queen slows and stops egg production. A healthy population of bees should have approx 50-100 pounds of honey stored before winter.

Varroa mites and moisture are the enemies of the bees during winter; not so much the cold if the population is big enough to keep 95 ºF around the queen in a good cluster. They 'shiver' to keep the cluster warm, and rotate places to stay warm and feed.

In my apiary, I apply monthly treatments during the warmest days of winter (> 50ºF) to reduce the population of mites in the hive. This increases the chance of survival. Mites feed from the body fat of the bees and when spring comes, if the bees survive the stress of a high count of mites, the integrity of the new larva is compromised.

The chemical process that the winter bees go through to feed the first brood (larva) when no gathering of nectar or pollen is taking place, can end in an unsuccessful overwinter and the death of the colony in the late winter or early spring. Winter bees clustered in their hive consume more resources during warm winters. This too can affect the survival of the colony before the first natural flow of resources.

Summer bees live an average of four-six weeks after they reached their adulthood. Winter bees can live six months, sometimes more . A molecule called Vitellogenin is responsible for this phenomena and its production is powered by the fat in the body of the winter bee.

Queens can live five or more years (there is one in each colony). Drones (male bees) are thrown out of the hive before winter. They don't produce or work, and they consume valuable quantities of resources needed by the rest of the hive to survive the winter.

Winter bees are amazing. During winter, on warm days, bees go out to 'potty'. It is normal to see yellow dots on the snow. They hold in a lot, so when it is warm enough to go outside the hive for a 'cleansing flight,' the bees do so. Remember never eat yellow snow.

Winter survival is not the hardest part for an overwintered hive. It is to build the colony up again in late winter/early spring when there are no natural resources to gather yet. The body structure of winter bees is prepared for this function. Their fat bodies can break down proteins, carbohydrates, and other nutrients and reassemble the components into new chemicals.

In this way they are able to feed the new generation of bees who will use spring nectar flow and pollen to survive and grow the colony. Additionally, the new spring bees attend to drone production and prepare the colony for possible swarming; when a colony divides itself to create more colonies.

In March, while Silver Maples flower in Ohio (one of the first external protein sources for the bees), and if the weather conditions allow it, the winter bees go out to gather their first pollen of the season. This then boosts the hive's desire to increase its population. There are so many sources blooming in the last days of winter including trees and ground flowers, dandelions and bulbs – all very well appreciated by the bees.

Winter bees normally don't get to enjoy the entire spring season. Once they have used their fat bodies to start the colony in the late winter/early spring, their juvenile bodies are no more. The production of Vitellogenin drops because there is no longer fat in their bodies. Many do their 'last fly into the sun on a warm day, as a reward after a long and cold winter, to never return home.' I love to think that they go to pollinate and enjoy delicious nectars in the Garden of Eden.

What a blessing it is to observe our honeybees. I am grateful for these winter bees and all they do and sacrifice for the survival of their mother and sisters!

I hope you have enjoyed the read, and that it serves you well.

Maria Matthews 

Susan Nutter and her husband, Scott, maintain 30 hives on their 65 acre tree farm in northeast Ohio, where they also produce maple syrup along with selling honey, beeswax, and honeybees. Follow Susan on Facebook by searching Bees and Trees, and on Instagram @beesandtrees.co. Got questions about beekeeping or honeybees in general? Please email Susan Nutter at SusanNutter11@gmail.com.