note: I would think it less important how many fly out at temps lower than 50 than how many actually return -- PLB
> 
Hi Pete & All

Here in the banana belt of Canada our temperatures, this year, are fluctuating around 0C(32F).  Last night down to -6C(21F) today up to +3(37F) with a cloudy morning followed by bright sun this afternoon.  Inspired by this thread I went across the river to check my bees.  All hives except two had dead bees in the fresh snow near them but none were flying at 3PM when I was there.  I can’t answer Pete’s question above except to say that my bees fly all winter especially when direct sun falls on the packed(black cover) hive.  My bees are split into 2 groups about 100 ft apart, one with direct sun from late morning to late afternoon, the other in a cedar bush with filtered sun throughout the day.  The bees in the sunny section fly more often than the others and I have seen them flying and clustering around the top entrance (bees arriving and departing) below 0C.  I once picked up a ‘dead' bee from in snow in our front yard and handed it to a guest who had asked me if bees hibernate.  After a few minutes the guest asked me to take the bee back as it was crawling up his arm.  This bee had flown more than 100 ft over the river and the roof of the house.  I believe that the direct  winter sun on packed hives causes the bees to be too active  including flight and breaking cluster at low temperatures.  The winter of 2017/18 was unusually sunny and cold with many days sunny mild(0 to +3C) followed by night temperatures down to -18C(0F).  All but one of my sunny hives died while all but one of the shaded hives survived that winter.

Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
44N80W

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