Winter warmth

Activity overview

Run the activity

1. You’re going to watch a short video. The aim isn't to find right answers, it's to explore ideas and find out what they know.

• Do they know what might happen based on the image?

2. After you've watched the video, lead a discussion with your class:

• What does the class already know about honey bees?
• What do they notice about the movement of the bees?
• Does the class know how the male drones are different from the female worker bees?
• Ask the class if they know any more about honey bees after watching the video. 

3. Ask the class to describe what they saw using only one word.

Background science

Different animals have different ways of coping with the harsh weather that winter brings. Over the course of a year, a honey bee hive will host both summer bees, living around 4-6 weeks, and winter bees with an impressive 4-8 month lifespan.

As autumn approaches, the summer bees begin the winter preparations by stockpiling enough honey to feed the hive throughout the winter and spring and helping to rear the winter bees who will replace them when the colder weather arrives. When the winter bees take over, the female worker bees force any remaining male drones out of the hive, ensuring food reserves are saved for the new winter bees and most importantly, the queen!

The winter bees have one job throughout the cold winter months. This is to keep the queen warm and fed, which they achieve by forming a winter cluster, which is just like a great big group hug. By continuously fluttering and shivering, they generate a huge amount of heat. The outer edge of the cluster can be a chilly 10°C, whilst the centre can reach temperatures as high as 32°C. All of this movement uses up lots of energy so a bee colony can consume an incredible 36 kilograms of honey over winter (that’s about the same weight as a ten-year-old child) to provide them with the energy required to protect their queen.

Take it further

Is your class learning about seasonal changes alongside animals and habitats? Check out this Save Our Bees resource, which has great activities from bee spotting to discovering how to make your garden bee friendly.

Countryside Classroom have this great Understanding Bees activity pack with curriculum linked ideas including making a solitary bee hotel and ideas for cooking with honey.

Watch this 10-minute BBC video to find out how honey is made.

On Explorify, take a look at how these Animals in winter survive, discuss these Sleepy heads who prefer to hibernate, or observe some other changes which take place as the Seasons change.