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by voisin 974 days ago
> Random bee fact: each workerbee trip returns ~40mg nectar to the hive.

And it takes them approximately 1 hour and 1,000 flower visits in order to collect enough nectar or pollen to fill up for the return trip. It is so taxing that the muscles in their wings wear out after around 2 weeks.
2 comments
WXLCKNO 974 days ago
Bees live 30-60 days it seems.

Queens live up to 5 years but 2-3 on average, just spawning new ephemeral pods to do work.

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cryptonector 974 days ago
It depends. Winter worker bees live several months. Summer worker bees live only a few weeks. (I'm referring to honeybees here, not other types of bees.)

Winter bees have to live longer because the colony has to "hibernate" through the cold winter months, doing nothing but keeping warm, then in the spring it needs enough bees to reboot the cycle. On the other hand winter bees don't have to forage. Summer bees live less because a) they don't fatten up, b) they fly a lot.

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irrational 974 days ago
What about bees in places like San Diego where it is mild year round? Do they have permanent spring bees?
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cryptonector 974 days ago
It depends as much on weather as on forage availability. If there's no nectar flow during the winter, then they'll just not spend so much effort on foraging, maybe? I'm not sure. Where I am it's hot much of the year, but winters are not a walk in the park for the bees, so they definitely hibernate. (They don't sleep all winter, just they don't go out on cold days, but since it's Texas there are sufficiently warm winter days they will go out on those days, mainly to poop.)
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drekk 972 days ago
San Diego native here. California bees are incredibly docile and produce honey year-round. They produce more slowly in the winter due to availability but they don't hunker down+expel male drones like in harsher climates.

If you take a California queen to a state like CO they tend to do poorly the first year. They're not used to things like other hives raiding honey stores in winter. It's pretty fascinating!

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cryptonector 972 days ago
Interesting! Year-round honey sounds pretty good.
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simonebrunozzi 974 days ago
> It is so taxing that the muscles in their wings wear out after around 2 weeks.

Wow. I know a lot about bees (and kept bees with my father for several years), but never thought about this and of course didn't know the details of the wear effect on wings.

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voisin 973 days ago
I believe (but might be wrong as I’ve read a bunch of books this year on bees - it’s my first year beekeeping!) that the source for this info is this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29499054

Also, if interested, the best book I read this year was recommended on this site and is this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14359367

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ProllyInfamous 969 days ago
The thorax/wings have a "stroke" limit, and are not repairable after the final instar (i.e. once they begin flying, nothing gets repaired). It's not just flightmiles, any wing usage rolls the lifetime odometer (e.g. fanning, flying, dancing).

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Add Dr. Thomas Seely's "Honeybee Democracy" to your reading list.

And may all your honeyflows remain prosperous.

—Two-hive Beeker

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