It’s the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the shortest day of the year. Honeybee colonies are currently at their smallest, but as day length increases following the solstice, changes within the colony begin.
The worker bees will slowly raise the temperature of the brood nest, from the resting temperature of 21-24°C, to the brood rearing temperature of around 35°C, and the queen will start laying eggs again.
Maintaining warmer temperatures requires more food, and while there is little forage available yet, we look forward to the emergence of the first snowdrop, crocus and willow flowers.
