On days like yesterday and today, when the temperature climbs above 13°C, many worker bees can be found huddled outside the hive. Some of them—who knows where they found it—are still carrying their pockets full of pollen. But many of these bees will not return to the hive; they simply reach the end of their lives there. These are the worker bees that have been active until just recently. It’s a moment that truly makes you want to whisper, “Thank you for your hard work.”
Meanwhile, inside the hive are the so-called “winter bees,” worker bees that were laid around October to November and took about three weeks to mature. During the flowerless winter months, they rarely venture outside and spend more than three months in the dark hive.