6 October 2024

With fewer flowers, nectar and pollen available, bees are quickly eating what they can in early October. Though it looks like the honey bees and bumblebees are doing the same thing they have different strategies for dealing with winter.

Honey bee workers are still busy gathering nectar and pollen to support their hive and queen through the winter. We see them foraging when the temperature is at or above 55°F (13°C).

Bumblebees, on the other hand, are very busy but their lives are short. Only their queen will survive the winter. After she mates with the available males she will retreat underground to wait for spring.

The flowers they love are grape leaf anemone in a garden near Carnegie Library and Museum.