# What is the expectation for "Over-wintering" in Southern California?



## JPK (May 24, 2008)

No offense but those conditions sound like this past July for us in New Hampshire.

It doesn't sound like you get more than a short period of time where its cold enough for them to really shut down and cluster...aka Winter.

Up here in NH two deeps is pretty normal for over wintering and everything shuts down by mid/end Sept and doesn't start back up until End March/April....long time to over winter and we'll see months where it fails to get ABOVE freezing....heck we had a stretch where it was -23 to -28 this past winter.

I'll guess that with your mild conditions you should probably be able to get by with a single deep....maybe a deep and a medium depending on how small your colony gets in the winter.


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## gpr (May 22, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback.

I have no idea if the bees when the bees in our area will continue or stop producing brood and/or honey with the mild conditions. We are located in a small city with lots of country-side around us. I expect that there are enough flowering plants for the bees to forage throughout the year amounst the track homes. 

Does anyone have any experience with bees in these conditions?

Greg


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## LenInNorCal (Feb 28, 2009)

I've no idea about how long your bees may gather but as you know the girls need pollen and nectar which requires water and lots of it. You live in a desert region, no? So the amount of water needed may be prohibitive to expect an all year nectar flow for such production. I would suggest leaving a dozen bars of honey for the winter and then adjust for next year. It won't be the cold that could kill your bees but rather the lack of food coupled with the inability to produce more during the winter. I would consider having your girls produce comb this year for any anticipated honey and brood for next year. The comb itself is more valuable for a beginner than the honey. 
Also consider going to a meeting of beeks and asking about other TBH folks.


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## gpr (May 22, 2009)

Sounds like very good advice. 

I do attend a beek club here in San Diego. The membership is mostly newbees with a couple having experience with the Langs.


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## Fuzzy (Aug 4, 2005)

The conditions up here are similar except we get about double the rainfall. So, the bees will fly and forage almost every day. We leave a total of 8 deep frames of honey ( spread over two deeps ) for winter. I cannot recall whether you have eucalyptus in/around your area ( within a 2 mile radius ). If so, they will have plenty of forage. If not, I can't predict your needs. You will just have to observe and check the size of the cluster. If it is getting too small then you will have to feed. In the winter, late Dec and early Jan we may drop to about 4-5 frames of bees and still be ok ( Italians ).

Regards -- Fuzzy


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## LenInNorCal (Feb 28, 2009)

Took a trip to El Cajon, near San Diego, and there were HUGE eucalyptus trees there. Told that they were planted around 1910 as a recent import from Australia to give shade due to fast growth and slow the prevalent winds a bit for their newly built home. BTW, that home cost $1260 when built AND they threw in an extra $50 for the large-boulder fireplace!
Point is: there are eucs and the bees will forage them for winter honey, just as they do up North here. Blessed, we are!


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## gpr (May 22, 2009)

Wall cool! Yes, we have lots of Eucs in the area. Since it is a TBH, I will keep up the inspections. 

Another question about overwintering, If the bees lifespan is about 6 weeks, how do they survive in other climates during the winters?

Thanks again.


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## LenInNorCal (Feb 28, 2009)

Don't persactly know. It has been observed that those bees that are hatched in the late fall live longer is pretty much the answer! That's about all I know. I would imagine that since the drones are mostly all killed in the early fall (don't be shocked when you see TOO many whole dead bees in front of the hive even after you've reduced the entrance to prevent robbing) there is a reduction in food consumption. Couple that with the slower metabolism rate during the colder months which also mandates less eating of food stores, this will allow longer life span. As my son says, "live fast, die young" and that is what bees do, except in the winter. They live slow and die later.
If you have a window in your TBH then go out at night and shine a light in there. You will see that they are working day AND night. But in winter.........


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## Jer733 (Oct 5, 2008)

Bees tend to live longer in cold climates as they are not our foraging.

Foraging is what wears the bees out physically.

In places that have cold winters, the bees will cluster together to keep warm and only make short cleansing flights in "decent" weather.

Queens normally slow their laying to adjust to the nectar flow in your area. That said, some bee types, namely Italian's, tend to eat a bit more and have a bigger brood size.

I suggest keeping an eye on the stores and feeding if they run low.

Search the forum for feeding


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Its my understanding that the bees don't die because of age, but more by how many miles they fly. In the winter they don't fly as much.


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