Summer vs Winter Bees
If you’ve been part of the Just Bee community for a while, you’ll know that not all bees are created equal, especially when it comes to the seasons. A hive in summer behaves entirely differently from one in the depths of winter, and the bees themselves adapt in some remarkable ways to ensure the survival of the colony.
Summer bees are essentially the workforce of the hive. They’re born into abundance, raised quickly, and trained to get straight to work. Their life cycle is short, typically 5 to 6 weeks, because they burn through their energy rapidly, constantly flying out to forage, cleaning cells, tending to brood, and even regulating the hive temperature by fanning their wings. These bees have smaller fat bodies, which means they’re designed for action, not longevity. The wear and tear of daily flights and the sheer pace of summer activity mean their lives, though vital, are fleeting.
In contrast, winter bees are bred for endurance. As the days shorten and temperatures drop, the queen slows her egg laying, and her offspring starts to have a very different physiological makeup. Winter bees develop with larger fat bodies and higher levels of vitellogenin, a protein that supports both immune function and fat storage. This biological shift allows them to live up to six months, serving as the hive’s core heating system. They don’t forage, instead, they cluster tightly around the queen and slowly consume stored honey to keep warm, vibrating their wing muscles to generate heat. The cluster temperature remains around 20–30°C, even if it’s freezing outside.
One particularly interesting difference is that summer bees don’t overlap much with winter bees, each generation knows its season. Winter bees are raised in autumn and slowly phase out by spring, replaced by a new generation ready to take on the foraging role.
Understanding these seasonal roles highlights just how sophisticated and self-regulating a hive really is. The bees instinctively adapt to the environment, managing internal resources, population levels, and even physiology with precision.
At Just Bee, we never stop being amazed by this natural intelligence. So next time you spot a bee mid-summer, spare a thought for the winter bees who kept their hive alive through the cold, dark months, buzzing quietly behind the scenes.
TRY IT U WONT EVER BE DISAPPOINTED. tastes vary of course but firm favourite is strawberry and honey. Ive yet to try prickly pear and other great tasting honey i find hard to resist. I could go on soooo long about the honey recipes free wild flowers seeds which grow great in empty honey pots which are now planted out in garden. Busy bees in their glory doing what they know best for human survival as we cannot function without bees naturally spreading pollen whilst gathering nectar only they can do so we can enjoy luscious healthy daily suberb tasty honey
Love reading your newsletters. Had absolutely no idea that there were summer and winter bees. My wildflowers are looking great and have decided to give over more garden space to them next year.
Bytheway, love the honey. I’m on the Royal honey at the moment and it’s delicious. Lemon and ginger gorgeous and turmeric all so good !!
Thank you Jo and Just Bee company for all your wonderful honey. I love them all but especially the most recent one i.e Strawberries and cream. I put it in my daily bio yogurt and it is delicious,light and creamy. Would like some more if possible.
A very interesting and informative read Ive learned alot from it. The bees are a marvellous little insect so clever and so valuable and necessary to us humans. We need to do everything in our power to keep them alive. 🐝🐝
That was such an interesting read, thank you! Naively I didn’t even know winter bees existed!!!