0:00 ; Begin
0:43 ; Dr. Otis’ background and interests
05:20 ; Start of Presentation
06:30 ; Winter and Summer Bees
07:17 ; Adult Winter Bee Survival- Summer
09:11 ; Worker Bee division of labor
17:42 ; How do Colonies survive Winter?
24:11 ; Annual Cycle of a well managed colony, graph of population
27:53 ; How do Winter Bees differ from Winter Bees
29:53 ; When do Winter Bees develop
40:30 ; When are Winter Bees produced (Pollen study, H. Mattila)
47:57 ; Incoming pollen influences shift to Winter Bees
52:50; When are Winter Bees produced
1:03:55 ; Varroa, Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)
1:14:19 ; How to ensure health of Winter Bees
1:16:16 ; Questions

Why Winter Bees are Key to Colony Health and Survival

Dr. Gard W. Otis, University of Guelph, Canada, and Institute of Bee Health, Switzerland

Honey bees in winter are physiologically very different from summer bees. Winter bees store fat, have inactive brood food glands, become inactive, and live much longer than summer bees while their colony is not rearing larvae. The health of winter bees strongly influences colony survival during winter, so they are not only of academic interest to us humans. What exactly are winter bees? When are they produced? What causes them to become winter bees and not short-lived summer bees? And how does our bee management affect the health of winter bees?

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