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Aug 20, 2011 6:15 AM CST
Name: Margaret
Delta KY
I'm A Charley's Girl For Sure
Forum moderator I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Beekeeper
Seed Starter Permaculture Region: Kentucky Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
They stay put in their hive. From now until frost stops the plants blooming in colder areas they will be busy storing honey for winter use. They store more than they actually need and just before it gets too cold for them to fly they will eat the extra honey if you don't take it off first. When the temperature drops below 50 they cluster together and vibrate their wing muscles to generate heat. Think of a swarm to get an idea of this clustering, only in a tighter ball. The colder it gets, the tighter the cluster is. The queen is always kept in the center of the cluster. And they rotate positions so everyone can get to the honey to feed. When they are in a tight cluster, they can't move and if it stays that cold for too long they can starve to death even though there's plenty of food available because they can't move to reach it.

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