0°C Apiary. Gaasperplaspark, Driemond-Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ice in many places on the banks of the Gaasperplas (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/54327362190/in/photost...) as I ambled past the Apiary on its far north-east side. It was just 0°C. Honeybees usually begin foraging at about 10 or 12°; when the thermometer is lower they huddle together in their hives or nests. If you put your hand on the sides, you'll be able to feel slight warmth and an inkling of movement of the beemassing inside. Still, those Bees have clean nests so even in bitter cold they do shortly leave their compatriots for a pitstop to evacuate their guts. In the photo at the top the Apiary, at bottom the doorway of a hive with some congregating Bees.
0°C Apiary. Gaasperplaspark, Driemond-Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ice in many places on the banks of the Gaasperplas (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/54327362190/in/photost...) as I ambled past the Apiary on its far north-east side. It was just 0°C. Honeybees usually begin foraging at about 10 or 12°; when the thermometer is lower they huddle together in their hives or nests. If you put your hand on the sides, you'll be able to feel slight warmth and an inkling of movement of the beemassing inside. Still, those Bees have clean nests so even in bitter cold they do shortly leave their compatriots for a pitstop to evacuate their guts. In the photo at the top the Apiary, at bottom the doorway of a hive with some congregating Bees.