Honeybee Weather

Many non-beekeepers believe that honeybees hibernate during the cold weather - NOT SO! 

   

Honeybees form a winter cluster around their queen.  All "bee season" long they have been working to seal all cracks in their hive with propolis to keep out drafts & wind.  When the temperature drops below 57 degF they begin to form a compact mass.  The outer edges of the cluster are densely packed to form an insulating layer.  Towards the center it is less dense allowing air-space to be warmed.  The honeybees near the center use honeystores for carbohydrates and vibrate their wing muscles to generate heat.  The cold bees at the insulating layer can't stay there in the cold so they move in towards the center to get warmth.  The well-fed warm bees move out to take their turn at the outer insulating layer.  The cluster doesn't warm areas around them, only the cluster area.  If there aren't enough honeystores to slowly move across, or if the temperature is less than 20 degF for a long time and the cluster can't move, the honeybees will starve when the honey inside the cluster is gone, or freeze because they don't have food for energy to vibrate their wing muscles.  Beekeepers need to worry about leaving enough honey in the hive to "feed" their bees.  All the vibrating and warmth also generates moisture inside the hive, Beekeepers must make sure they help keep their honeybees dry - remember the last time you were wet & cold at the same time!

 

Honeybees need a temperature of about 50 degF to really be able to fly any distance.

 

You can use the charts below to determine what plants will do well in the Denver/Littleton USDA hardiness zone by determining the average low & high temperature for the year - usually considered zones 4 and 5.  We highly recommend choosing to plant Colorado Native Plants! Check the Colorado Native Plant Society website for more information http://www.conps.org/conps.html.

 

This will also help you determine when honeybees will begin to fly to herald the beginning of "bee season" and also when to make sure your honeybees have enough honey for wintering over in their hive - at least 60 pounds!   

   

17 Year Averages
39-37N Latitude
105-01W Longitude
5360.0 ft Elevation
Temp Change About
2 degF each 500ft		AVG
LOW		AVGAVG
HIGH		AVG
PRECIP		AVG
SNOW		AVG
COVER		AVG
CLEAR
0-30%		AVG
PARTLY
CLOUDY
40-70%		AVG
CLOUDY
80-100%		"MOSTLY
SUNNY"
ADD
CLR + PC
UNITdegFdegFdegFininindaysdaysdaysdays
YEAR35486316.465.71115130120245
JAN1528430.48.931091119
FEB1933470.57.81891117
MAR2739531.411.918101318
APR3548621.57.8-7111318
MAY4355692.80.6-6121318
JUN5266801.9--1012822
JUL5771851.9--916625
AUG5569822--1014824
SEP4660751.10.9-139822
OCT3348641.23-139922
NOV2236511.112.2210101020
DEC1528430.612.7311101021

   

Temperatures/Precipitation from WeatherReports.com 

 

http://www.weatherreports.com/United_States/CO/Littleton/averages.html 

   

Cloudiness - Mean Number of Days from NOAA Western Region Climate CenterDenver Colorado based on 67 years of data through 2002 

 

http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/cldy.html

   

USDA
Plant
Hardiness
Zone  		  Fahrenheit      Celsius    
1 Below -50 F  Below -45.6 C
2a-50 to -45 F  -42.8 to -45.5 C
2b-45 to -40 F-40.0 to -42.7 C
3a-40 to -35 F-37.3 to -39.9 C
3b-35 to -30 F-34.5 to -37.2 C
4a-30 to -25 F-31.7 to -34.4 C
4b-25 to -20 F-28.9 to -31.6 C
5a-20 to -15 F-26.2 to -28.8 C
5b-15 to -10 F-23.4 to -26.1 C
6a-10 to -5 F-20.6 to -23.3 C
6b-5 to 0 F  -17.8 to -20.5 C
7a0 to 5 F-15.0 to -17.7 C
7b5 to 10 F-12.3 to -14.9 C
8a 10 to 15 F-9.5 to -12.2 C
8b15 to 20 F-6.7 to -9.4 C
9a20 to 25 F-3.9 to -6.6 C
9b25 to 30 F-1.2 to -3.8 C
10a30 to 35 F1.6 to -1.1 C
10b35 to 40 F4.4 to 1.7 C
11above 40 Fabove 4.5 C

 

  

Link to Hudson Gardens "Bloom Calendar"  http://www.hudsongardens.org/content/Bloom_Calendar

eMAIL high.land.beekeeping.club@comcast.net