Where do Bees go in winter?

There are over 250 species of Bee in the UK including 24 types of Bumble bee!🐝

Their winter habits vary - some species of Solitary bee spend the winter as adults protecting themselves from the cold, in what is know as 'over wintering'. Then, in spring, they emerge to make the most of the early flowers 🌺🌸🌼

The honey bee is the only bee to maintain a colony throughout winter. The colony reduces in size through autumn and then relies on its stores of honey to last through winter - when it’s too cold to forage or there’s no food available. The colony clusters together inside the hive to keep warm, using their bodies to generate heat, the bees take it in turns to be on the cold outside, the queen remains in the centre of the cluster.

Others, like the Mason bee, spend the winter as pupae and have an annual life cycle which ends after their eggs have been laid in the autumn - ready for next year's bees to begin the process again!🐝🐝

You can help winter active bees by -
Planting winter flowering plants such as - Mahonia, Hellebores and Winter flowering honeysuckle. Also, by creating leaf and twig piles for shelter, growing ivy for cover and late nectar and building a bee hotel where solitary bees can lay their eggs in spring and summer.

A good reason for sowing in the autumn to get those early spring flowers - and help the bees!