Here in (most of) Oz there is no break in brood rearing for winter.
Depending on the floral resources available in a particular year, in a
particular spot, bees can be rearing large amounts of brood. One
memorable year we had bees swarming in the middle of winter, a site that
can on occasion have snow.
So presumably cessation and resumption of brood rearing is a tad more
complicated than suggested.
A pollen dearth here can lead to bees not rearing brood, but the queen
in my experience, continues to lay.
Geoff Manning
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