It is in my climate of Southeastern Nebraska. It depends on the race of bees and your climate. Here I usually have no brood from about October to March. Usually in March they will start rearing a small patch of brood. They could do it as early as January depending on the weather. Never until after the winter solstice. If it’s warm enough in January they will probably do a small patch, then take a break. Then a larger patch. Then take a break, and then go into full brood rearing. When the maples bloom (which depends on the weather that year) and when it’s warm enough for them to gather the maple pollen, then brood rearing usually kicks into full swing.
from October to March? That’s a long time- the bees just live longer over that period I guess?
“Never until after the winter solstice” hmm- no doubt they follow the suns path closely. Clever little bees.
Watching the City of the Bees last night- they said that a bee works itself to death in 5 weeks- though they are capable of living for several years. Amazing bees.
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Winter bees live longer because they are slightly different physiologically due to changes in nutrition. They are responsible for taking the colony through to the next season. At any other time of the year they will live longer if there is no brood to rear. A queen may live for five years but a common scenario is that she may swarm I her second year and be then replaced by the bees in her new colony
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As Dee says, winter bees are physiologically different. They have more fat bodies and can live longer and also they are not working themselves to death. A typical queen with no Acaracides to shorten her life, who is well mated typically lasts 3 years but there are records of some living 7 years. However they usually were not heading a booming colony but rather were used in queen rearing and living in small nucs all their lives so they didn’t run out of sperm. Drones lives are about the same as workers. Shorter in the summer. Most of them aren’t kept in the winter but those that are seem to make it to spring in my observation.
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