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Winter Bees Are Being Born Right Now — What August Beekeepers Must Understand — Transcript

by Mae Holloway · 2,857 words · 499 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Right now, while you are watching this
0:02video, somewhere inside one of your
0:04hives, a specific bee is emerging from
0:08her cell. She looks identical to every
0:11other bee that has emerged this summer.
0:13Same size, same coloration, same
0:16behaviors on the frame. But she is not
0:19the same. She is going to live 5 to 6
0:22months. Her sisters who emerged in June
0:25are already dead. Her sisters who
0:27emerged in July will be dead by
0:29mid-September.
0:31She will survive through October,
0:33through November, through the coldest
0:35weeks of January, and she will still be
0:38alive to see the first maple bloom of
0:40February next year. She is what
0:42beekeepers call a winter bee. And she is
0:45being born right now, this week, in
0:47August, across every healthy honeybee
0:50colony in North America.
0:52What most beekeepers do not understand
0:55is that this is the most important time
0:57of the beekeeping year. Not because of
0:59honey harvest, not because of pest
1:01pressure, but because everything you do
1:04or fail to do in the next 4 weeks will
1:07determine whether your colony survive
1:09winter or die in February. Today, I want
1:12to walk you through exactly what winter
1:14bees are, what makes them different from
1:17summer bees, what conditions your
1:19colonies need right now to produce good
1:21ones, and the specific three things that
1:24destroy winter bee quality if you are
1:26not watching for them. If you have
1:28colonies you want to see alive next
1:30spring, this is the video that will tell
1:32you what matters between now and
1:34October.
1:36To understand why winter bees matter,
1:38you have to understand what makes them
1:39biologically different from every other
1:41worker bee in your colony. Summer worker
1:44bees live for 6 weeks. They are what
1:46biologists call short-lived workers.
1:49They fly hard, they forage, they wear
1:52themselves out, and they die. Their
1:54bodies are optimized for maximum work
1:57output over a compressed lifespan.
1:59Winter worker bees are physiologically
2:01different in three specific ways. First,
2:04they carry substantially more of a
2:06protein called vitellogenin in their
2:08bodies.
2:09In summer bees, vitellogenin levels are
2:12low because the protein is being used
2:14constantly for feeding brood and
2:16supporting flight metabolism. In winter
2:18bees, vitellogenin levels are
2:20dramatically elevated. According to
2:23research from Dr. Gro Amdam at Arizona
2:25State University, vitellogenin functions
2:28as an antioxidant, an immune system
2:30booster, and an energy reserve. All
2:33three of which are essential for
2:35surviving months of confinement in a
2:37winter cluster.
2:39Second, winter bees carry significantly
2:41larger fat body reserves. The fat body
2:44is essentially the bee's liver combined
2:46with her energy storage system. Winter
2:49bees deposit fat throughout their bodies
2:51during their first few weeks of life,
2:53effectively building up the calorie
2:55reserves they will need to survive
2:57months without foraging.
2:59Third, winter bees have reduced flight
3:01muscle activity and lower metabolic
3:03rates than summer bees. Their bodies are
3:06tuned for endurance rather than
3:07performance. They move less, they
3:10consume less, and they last longer. All
3:13three of these physiological features
3:15depend on how the winter bee was raised.
3:17A larva that becomes a winter bee needs
3:19to be fed high-quality nurse jelly from
3:22well-nourished nurse bees during her
3:23larval development. If the nurses
3:26feeding her are themselves stressed,
3:28mite-loaded, or nutritionally deprived,
3:30the winter bee that emerges will not
3:32have the vitellogenin levels, the fat
3:35body reserves, or the metabolic tuning
3:37needed to survive winter. She will look
3:41like a winter bee, but she will die like
3:44a summer bee months earlier than the
3:47colony needs her to survive. The
3:49difference between colonies that make it
3:51through winter and colonies that die in
3:53February is often invisible to us at
3:56this moment. It is happening inside the
3:58brood cells your colony is capping right
4:00now.
4:01So, when exactly does this critical
4:03winter bee production happen?
4:06The timing depends on your climate zone,
4:08but the pattern is consistent across
4:10most of North America. Winter bee
4:12production begins around mid-August and
4:15continues through mid to late September.
4:17The exact start date is triggered by day
4:19length and by internal colony
4:21conditions.
4:23As days shorten and temperatures begin
4:25to change, the queen shifts from
4:27producing summer worker brood to
4:29producing brood that will develop into
4:30winter bees. This shift is biological,
4:33not random. Your queen is responding to
4:36environmental signals telling her that
4:38winter is approaching and that the
4:40colony needs a different type of worker.
4:43Here is what needs to be true inside the
4:44colony for good winter bee production.
4:47Adequate protein resources. Winter bees
4:50need pollen, lots of it. The nurse bees
4:53feeding developing winter bee larvae
4:55need to themselves be well nourished.
4:57Pollen stores in the hive and continued
4:59pollen foraging in the surrounding
5:01landscape both matter enormously during
5:03August and September. Low mite loads.
5:06Varroa directly damages developing bees
5:09during the pupal stage, but even more
5:11critically, mites vector viruses that
5:13compromise the immune systems of
5:15emerging winter bees.
5:17Colonies with high mite loads produce
5:19winter bees that look normal, but are
5:21actually immunocompromised from the
5:23moment they emerge. Colony stability.
5:26Winter bee production requires sustained
5:28brood rearing conditions. Colonies
5:31experiencing significant disruption from
5:34robbing pressure, from frequent
5:35inspections, from splits or combines
5:38late in the season, from queen problems,
5:41often produce fewer winter bees or lower
5:43quality ones. According to research from
5:46Dr. Marla Spivak at the University of
5:48Minnesota, the August condition of a
5:50colony is one of the strongest
5:52predictors of that colony's winter
5:54survival, stronger than September
5:56condition, stronger than October
5:58preparation. The window during which
6:00winter bees are being produced is the
6:03window that determines whether the
6:04colony will still be alive in March.
6:07Miss that window or fail to protect the
6:10conditions necessary for good winter bee
6:12production, and no amount of feeding or
6:15management in September or October will
6:18fix what went wrong in August. Now that
6:21you understand what winter bees are and
6:23when they are being produced, let me
6:25tell you the three specific problems
6:27that destroy winter bee quality if you
6:30are not watching for them. Problem one,
6:33Varroa loads. Late summer is when Varroa
6:36populations reach their peak, and they
6:38reach that peak at exactly the same time
6:41your colony is trying to produce
6:42high-quality winter bees.
6:44The consequences are severe. Mites
6:47attach to developing pupae in capped
6:49brood cells and feed on their fat
6:51bodies, the exact tissue that winter
6:54bees need to be maximally developed.
6:57Mites vector deformed wing virus and
6:59other viruses that compromise winter bee
7:01immune systems. Even colonies with
7:04moderate mite loads in August produce
7:06winter bees with significantly reduced
7:08life expectancy.
7:10According to research from Dr. Dennis
7:12van Engelsdorp at the University of
7:13Maryland, colonies that enter fall with
7:16mite loads above 3% almost universally
7:19show winter mortality regardless of
7:22feeding or management. Because the
7:24winter bees produced during peak mite
7:26pressure are simply not biologically
7:28capable of surviving until spring.
7:30Problem two, nutritional stress. If your
7:34colony is experiencing dearth conditions
7:36during August, if pollen is scarce, if
7:39the nurse bees are themselves underfed,
7:42the winter bees emerging from that
7:43stressed environment will be
7:45nutritionally compromised. Their fat
7:47bodies will be smaller. Their
7:49vitellogenin levels will be lower. Their
7:52winter endurance will be reduced.
7:54Nutrition during winter bee development
7:56matters more than nutrition at any other
7:58time in the year because you cannot
8:00compensate for it later. You cannot feed
8:03pollen in November to fix winter bees
8:05that were raised on inadequate pollen in
8:07August. The window has passed. Problem
8:10three, excessive management stress. This
8:13is the one most beekeepers do not think
8:15about. Frequent full inspections, moving
8:18frames, opening the hive during periods
8:21of high robbing pressure, doing splits,
8:24combines during the winter bee
8:26production window. All of these disturb
8:29the queen's laying rhythm, disrupt nurse
8:31bee activities, and interfere with the
8:33precise coordination that winter bee
8:36production requires.
8:38Some inspection is necessary, but the
8:41balance shifts in August.
8:44What you gain from a full inspection
8:45during winter bee production is often
8:48less than what you lose in colony
8:50stability.
8:51According to research from Dr. Juliana
8:53Rangel at Texas A&M University, colonies
8:57subjected to frequent management
8:59disturbance during late summer show
9:01measurable reductions in fall population
9:03strength compared to minimally disturbed
9:06colonies of similar initial size and
9:09health.
9:10These three factors, mites, nutrition,
9:12and stress, determine the quality of the
9:15winter bees being born in your hives
9:17right now.
9:18And you have exactly the next four to
9:20six weeks to influence any of them.
9:23Given what we now understand, that
9:25winter bees are being born right now,
9:28that their quality determines winter
9:29survival, and that three specific
9:32problems can destroy that quality, let
9:35Let tell you the exact protocol I follow
9:37in August across all 14 of my colonies.
9:41Step one, Varroa treatment.
9:43This is the single most important action
9:45you take in August. If your mite loads
9:48are above the treatment threshold, and
9:50by mid-August they almost always are,
9:52you need to treat. Do not wait. Do not
9:55delay. Do not tell yourself you will get
9:58to it in September.
9:59The colony is producing winter bees
10:01right now, and those winter bees are
10:03being damaged by mites right now. Every
10:06day you delay is a day of compromised
10:08winter bee production.
10:10I use organic acids, mostly oxalic acid
10:13vaporization for colonies without
10:15significant brood, or formic acid for
10:17colonies with brood present. My detailed
10:20protocol is in another video on this
10:22channel. Whatever treatment you choose,
10:25choose it and apply it in August, not
10:27later.
10:28Step two, ensure pollen availability.
10:32Check that your colonies have adequate
10:34pollen stores. If they do not, consider
10:37supplementing.
10:38Pollen patties during August and
10:40September can substantially improve
10:42nurse bee nutrition, and therefore
10:44winter bee quality.
10:46This is the one time of year I actively
10:48feed pollen substitute, even to colonies
10:51that appear healthy, because the
10:52marginal benefit is significant and the
10:54cost is low. Step three, reduce
10:57management disturbance. Starting in
10:59mid-August, I reduce inspection
11:01frequency.
11:02I still do morning entrance checks.
11:05Those are non-invasive and provide the
11:06information I need. But I stop opening
11:09hives every week. Full inspections
11:11happen once in late August and once in
11:13mid-September. Time to check mite levels
11:16and colony condition, rather than to
11:18look at every frame.
11:20If a colony shows signs of a problem, I
11:22open it. Otherwise, I leave it alone.
11:25Step four, assess and address weak
11:27colonies.
11:29Late August is your last practical
11:31window to combine weak colonies with
11:33stronger neighbors. A weak colony trying
11:36to produce winter bees during dearth
11:38conditions with limited population will
11:40fail.
11:42Combining it with a stronger colony now
11:44gives the combined colony a chance to
11:47produce adequate winter bees.
11:49I covered the newspaper combining method
11:52in another video on this channel.
11:54Step five, ensure honey stores.
11:58By early September, your colonies should
12:00have their target winter honey reserves
12:02in place.
12:03If they do not, you need to feed.
12:06Fall feeding to build winter reserves
12:08works, but only if you start early
12:10enough that the colony can process and
12:12store the syrup before cold weather
12:15arrives.
12:16Waiting until October to start feeding
12:18often does not work because the colony
12:20cannot dehydrate and cap the syrup fast
12:23enough. Start supplemental feeding in
12:25late August or very early September if
12:28needed.
12:29This five-step protocol takes about four
12:31weeks to complete, and it protects the
12:33one thing your colony absolutely needs
12:36to survive winter, high-quality winter
12:39bees. Once you have done your August
12:42work, your colonies do their own work
12:44through autumn.
12:46Let me describe what happens to those
12:48winter bees you produced in August as
12:50September, October, and November
12:52progress.
12:54During September, the winter bees you
12:56produced in August continue emerging.
12:59The colony population reaches its fall
13:02peak, usually somewhere between 30 and
13:0550,000 bees, depending on the colony
13:07strength.
13:09But this population is now shifting
13:11composition. Summer bees are dying off.
13:14Winter bees are accumulating.
13:17By late September, most of the bees in
13:19the colony are winter bees. Their fat
13:22bodies are developed. Their vitellogenin
13:24reserves are high. Their metabolic rates
13:27are already lower than the summer bees
13:29they replaced.
13:31In October, the colony continues
13:33consuming stored honey, but at reduced
13:36rates.
13:37Brood rearing slows dramatically and
13:39often stops entirely by mid to late
13:42October in most temperate regions.
13:45The winter bees now make up virtually
13:47the entire population. They begin what
13:50beekeepers call clustering behavior,
13:52grouping together when temperatures drop
13:55below approximately 50° F.
13:58In November, the cluster becomes more
14:00consistent. On warm days, the cluster
14:03loosens and bees may make brief
14:05cleansing flights. On cold days, it
14:07tightens. The colony has entered its
14:10winter mode. What is remarkable about
14:12this transition is how efficiently the
14:14colony operates. A summer colony of
14:1630,000 bees would consume enormous
14:19amounts of food to maintain itself. That
14:21same population composed of winter bees
14:24consumes dramatically less. The
14:26physiological tuning you set up in
14:28August is what makes this possible.
14:30According to research from the
14:32University of Guelph Honey Bee Research
14:34Center, well-produced winter bees in a
14:36healthy cluster can survive for months
14:39on relatively small honey reserves,
14:42precisely because their metabolic rates
14:44and behavioral patterns are tuned for
14:46endurance rather than activity. The
14:49colony you built in August is now doing
14:52its winter work.
14:53And then February arrives.
14:56This is the moment of truth for winter
14:59bees and for the beekeeper who produced
15:02them.
15:03As days lengthen and temperatures begin
15:05their first slight warming trends,
15:09the queen resumes laying.
15:11New brood begins developing.
15:14And here is where winter bee quality
15:16becomes decisive.
15:18Raising brood requires energy. It
15:21requires the nurse bee behaviors that
15:24winter bees have been suppressing all
15:26winter.
15:27Winter bees at this point in the season
15:29are approaching the limit of their
15:31biological endurance.
15:33They have been alive for 5 or 6 months.
15:36They have kept the cluster warm through
15:38freezing temperatures, and now they are
15:40being asked to raise the next generation
15:42of workers before those workers can take
15:45over the colonies needs.
15:47This is where colonies die.
15:49If your winter bees are strong enough to
15:51raise this first spring brood, the
15:54colony transitions successfully. The new
15:56workers emerge in March, they take over
15:59foraging and nursing duties, and the
16:02colony continues.
16:04If your winter bees are exhausted or
16:06compromised, if their fat bodies were
16:09inadequate, if their vitellogenin
16:12reserves were depleted faster than they
16:14should have been, if their immune
16:16systems were compromised by mites in
16:18August, they cannot raise this first
16:22spring brood successfully.
16:24The colony has a small cluster of tired,
16:27dying bees trying to feed larvae they
16:29cannot support.
16:31Brood dies. Adult bees die faster, and
16:35within 2 to 3 weeks the colony is gone.
16:38February and March colony losses look
16:40identical to starvation.
16:42Beekeepers walk out to their apiaries
16:44and find dead colonies with honey still
16:47in the frames,
16:48but the starvation was not caused by
16:50lack of food. It was caused by lack of
16:53adequate winter bees to consume it and
16:55to raise the next generation.
16:57And the winter bees that failed were the
16:59ones born in August. I want to close by
17:02asking you to hold two time frames in
17:04your head at the same time.
17:06Right now, in the last days of July or
17:08early August as you watch this video,
17:11inside your colonies a specific pattern
17:13of biology is unfolding.
17:15Larvae are developing that will emerge
17:17as winter bees. Those emerging bees are
17:20already being either strengthened or
17:22compromised by the mite loads, the
17:24nutrition, and the stability of their
17:26colonies.
17:27Every decision you make in the next 4 to
17:306 weeks, whether you treat for Varroa,
17:32whether you feed pollen, whether you
17:34reduce inspections, whether you address
17:37weak colonies, will affect biology that
17:39does not become fully visible until
17:41February,
17:435 months from now.
17:44That is the time frame you are working
17:46in, whether you realize it or not.
17:48The beekeepers who lose colonies in
17:50February are usually not the beekeepers
17:52who did something wrong in January.
17:55They are the beekeepers who did not do
17:56the right things in August. And the
17:59reason winter
18:00losses often feel mysterious is that the
18:02actual causal chain runs backward
18:05through the entire fall invisibly until
18:08the moment of failure becomes visible.
18:11This video is my attempt to make that
18:12invisible chain visible.
18:14Not so you feel worried, so you know
18:17what to do.
18:18Treat for Varroa, ensure pollen, reduce
18:21disturbance, combine weak colonies, feed
18:25if needed. Do these five things across
18:27the next 4 weeks, and you will have done
18:29everything reasonable to protect the
18:31winter bees your colonies are producing
18:33right now.
18:34And when February arrives, 5 months from
18:37now, you will find those colonies still
18:39alive because of decisions you are
18:40making today.
18:42Tell me in the comments what your August
18:44plan looks like. Are you treating for
18:46Varroa? What method? Have you noticed
18:49reduced pollen coming in?
18:51What are you seeing this week that tells
18:52you something about winter bee
18:53production?
18:55Every apiary is different, and sharing
18:57what we observe across climates and
18:58conditions helps all of us
19:02manage this critical window better.

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