Bees, like us, have a life cycle. First, it is important to know that bees have a lifespan of about 45 days in summer, while the queen can live between 4 and 5 years.

During winter, bees do not go out, or very little, because their main mission is to keep the hive warm. They must keep it at a minimum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, which they achieve by rubbing their muscles together. Bees need honey to survive, which is why they build up large reserves before the season. If they are captive bees, beekeepers must check the amount of honey in reserve to ensure the bees' survival. It is important to note that a bee colony consumes about 1 kg of honey per month. In countries such as Canada, where winters are long, bees need to store about 4 to 6 kg of honey to last through the winter.

When the temperature starts to warm up, the bees make a few trips outside to empty the hive of waste and stretch their wings. Unlike so-called summer bees, winter bees have a much longer lifespan, which can be up to 6 months.

But sometimes the weather conditions are too harsh for them. For example, in the winter of 2024-2025, 43% of bee colonies in Manitoba did not survive the winter.

When spring arrives, summer bees take over and restart the colony for a new season.

At the beginning of the season, the bees in charge of nectar and pollen bring large quantities to the hive to feed and nourish the brood.

During this period, the queen lays between 2,000 and 3,000 eggs per day; the queen is able to restart and prepare the colony for the first honey flows of the year.

In the following month, the males will begin to appear, and at that point, the hive will have everything it needs to develop and reach its peak. By the end of spring, there are more foragers than workers.

Towards the end of spring, the hive's population will be reduced by half, and this is often when the queen is replaced if necessary. Three factors cause the hive to change queens: either the queen is too old, she has died, or it is for the development of the colony.

The development of the colony is called swarming. Swarming is an impressive phenomenon that is part of the natural life cycle of bees. As the colony prospers and grows, the young bees will begin to feed the queen less, which will have a direct impact on the queen's pheromone production. She will even stop laying eggs, giving the colony a feeling of orphanhood.

At this point, the colony will start several queen cells. A few days before the new queen emerges, about half of the workers gorge themselves on honey (the distended crop crushes their stingers, making them virtually incapable of stinging). The current queen is put on a diet to regain her ability to fly. At this stage, the queen leaves to form a new colony (bee swarm). This is how colonies multiply. In just a few hours, the colony must find a new place to establish a new home. To do this, it must create new wax combs and bring in as much food as possible for the survival and rearing of the new colony.

After the summer rush, the hive's activity slows down and the first summer bees disappear.

A new summer brood is raised, the colony is hard at work, and reserves begin to accumulate again.

During the summer, if the weather is very hot, the bees also work to regulate the hives so that they do not exceed 36 degrees. At the end of summer, the males are expelled from the hive, as they are now considered to be extra mouths to feed that are useless to the hive. The queen then slows down her egg-laying. And the colony prepares for winter.

When autumn arrives, the last beautiful days allow the bees to make their final reserves for the winter. The colonies are much less active, and the queen lays her last eggs to provide the last winter bees, whose larvae are fed with more protein, which contributes to their longer lifespan.