My Bees Were Bubbling Over & Now Half Of Them Are GONE!

Welcome to beekeeping in October!

This is the time of year when we go into our honey bee hives and for a second...we begin to panic. "I was just in these 2 weeks ago and they were bubbling over the edges of the hive and looking great! But now the hives has seemed to have shrunk in half! Oh no! Are they going to die?!"

This was me during my 2nd year of beekeeping... I was so excited for the winter because they were looking great so I thought I had the upcoming winter in the bag already. But then, when I opened up my colonies in October I instantly began to panic. I wasn't expecting the cluster size to shrink that much! So, I went over board and started combining hives and condensing down. But, my bees weren't dying. They were doing exactly what they were supposed to do...preparing for winter.

Honey bees are smart...

And that being said, they know exactly what they need to do so that they are ready for the coming months.

When a honey bee colony goes into winter, they are thinking about 4 things...

1. How much resources do they have to carry them through the winter?
2. Are there any cracks where moisture or water can get in?
3. Are there any pests or diseases in here that is going to hinder our health?
4. And lastly...THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE..how can we adjust our cluster size so that we are best set up to make it through the winter?

The honey bee colony works together are one unit, a team if you will. So that means their main goal is for the colony to survive the winter and come out in the spring strong and ready to be able to build up in time for the flow but to also be able to send out swarms and spread their genetics. So, one of the ways they guarantee this is by shrinking down their cluster size so that they have enough resources to carry them through the winter but also while still having enough bees to work together and keep the cluster warm.

October is the time of year that you will start seeing that your queen has slowed down her laying. But, this is a good thing. Your honey bee colonies have been making winter bees since August. So by now all of the bees in your colony are all winter bees. But... that statement right there is exactly why you are now seeing such a drastic drop in your hive population.

Summer bees...

only live for around 4-6 weeks (the exact number varies dependent on the source). But, moral of the story is they don't live very long! Where as winter bees can stay alive for around 6 months in some colder areas of the world. So...if your colony started making winter bees in August that would mean it has been around 4-6 since the last bit of summer bees were made. Meaning..that all of the summer bees that you did have in your colony just now died off.

Now let's dive into this a little deeper... as I said, honey bees are VERY smart. In order for the winter bees to be strong and healthy going into winter, they need to have a full fat body on them. Their fat body acts as their energy reserve and that is exactly what differentiates winter bees from summer bees. If that is their energy reserve then it is only logical to think that they want to make sure that they expend as little energy as possible going into winter so that they have enough energy come February to start brood rearing.

The fall flow begins in September and generally ends around the last week of September. It is short and fast but can be beneficial to hives as they prepare for winter. But, if they want to make sure those winter bees are as strong as possible...they don't want them going out and foraging and risking death and lowering their hive numbers going into the winter. No...they think, why don't we just send out the last little bit of summer bees to collect nectar and pollen right before they take their last breath?

So, the bees time out the flows and winter perfectly so that the bees that are working the hardest are the ones that will be dying soon. Sounds a little cruel but, it is the wisest decision for the better health of the colony. But also, because of that larger fat body on the winter bees. It is a little more difficult for them to fly, they are made to stay in the colony and use their bodies to vibrate and create heat. So for them to have go out and collect nectar as if they are a summer bee would be way harder for them and would use up way more energy as summer bees weigh a lot less than they do.

Okay, back on track...

So now that we know all of this, now we know exactly what we are seeing here. We are seeing the transition from having summer bees in the colony to now only having winter bees occupying your bee hives. Pair that with the queen slowing down on her laying and brood production and now it all makes sense!

So no, your hive is not dying. It is doing exactly what they are supposed to do and are on the right track to overwintering success. So have yourself a cup of hot cocoa and sit back and relax. As beekeepers all that is left for us to do is to add sugar to your hives that don't have enough food (don't need to do this until December/January) and let the bees be bees!

If you are still skeptical...here are 4 ways your honey bee colonies could die this fall..

 

https://youtu.be/W7W7AZxEeUU?si=0ACytYcAoTwgPMk-