An Overwinter Procedure for Honeybees

When winter settles over your beehive home, the pace of life in the hive slows to a crawl. The surviving workers cluster together around the queen and gently buzz their muscles to maintain a safe internal temperature. The hive burns through its honey reserves and prepares for spring. Step 1: Keep the Hive FedIn order for the hive to survive the winter, the number of filled surplus honeycomb cells must equal or exceed the population of the hive. Empty one surplus honeycomb cell per adult worker in the hive. If this condition is not met, the hive dies, leaving an empty comb for some other swarm to find in the spring. If the players have previously overseen a successful Swarm, then play may resume from the location of the swarm's hive. Otherwise, the game ends. Step 2: Keep the Hive Warm and CleanThe members of the hive must spend the winter in close proximity to stay warm, so defecation and waste must be managed through rare “cleansing flights”. On particularly sunny and warm winter…