Celebrating LCF Bees' Winter Poop Flight

Honey Bee Poop Tracks Winter of '25

A couple weeks back, we had our first 3 days in a row with temperatures 37 degrees Fahrenheit and above (maxed out at about 44 degrees) since middle of December. For bee farmers in a northern climate THIS IS A BIG DEAL. It means the bees in our seven LCF colonies got a chance to break out of their winter cluster and head out for their POOP FLIGHT.

This is a big deal for the bees in the colonies and a big deal for the LCF crew who has partnered with our bee sisters. Just like us, bees digest their food through an intestinal tract. During spring, summer and fall, when they are flying around doing their bee thing, where to poop isn't an issue. The just poop as they fly and work. But in winter, the poop picture changes. The job of the winter bees is to keep the colony alive by keeping it warm enough for all to survive...especially the all-important queen. Without her surviving until warmer days of spring, the colony will have no way to lay the eggs and raise the summer work force.

To complete their winter job of heating the colony, the thousands of winter bees work together by taking turns in flexing their flight muscles to generate heat for the winter cluster. The winter cluster is a ball of bees the size of a soccer ball that are semi-dormant unless they are on furnace duty. After a shift of heating the hive the bees need to replenish their fuel supply. So, they move slowly to feed on the remaining honey stores that they put away last summer. We leave about 60 pounds of lavender honey in each LCF horizontal hive for our bees to refuel on over the winter. They also feed on bee bread, which is a combination of 1/3 fermented pollen and 2/3 honey. Honey gives the bees quick glucose energy and bee bread gives them slower burning protein energy.

Now, we get back to the poop thing. All that work to heat the colony and then feed to recharge, leaves the bees with a digestive system filled with backed up poop. They won't relieve themselves in the hive because it is bad for the colony hygiene. And, so, they wait for a few warmer days like we just had and risk moving through the cold air of the hive out the door into the cold winter air to take a quick poop flight...and the resulting relief it may bring...and then try to get back to the warm cluster before they become too cold to move.

I had been tracking the weather and went to check on our colonies to see if the warmer weather had provided a poop window. And, sure enough, I could see poop tracks in front of all seven of our colonies' hives. I did a bit of a celebration. First successful poop flight of 2025 accomplished. Of course, I also saw a few dead bees along the way, some of these being bees who had flown too far from the hive and got too cold before turning back. A poop flight on a 43-degree winter day for our bee sisters is not to be taken lightly.

As of this writing, all 7 of our winter colonies look to be surviving the challenges of winter. That we celebrate as well. Especially, since there is increasing news around the country that in some of the bigger apiaries that as many as 60% of bee colonies are being lost this year. I will write more on this in the next blog. Until then, BEE & DO You!