What is the life cycle of a bee?
A. Every autumn as the first frosts begin the mated young queens seek out a place to hibernate in safety. If you come across a live but sleepy bee in a pile of leaves in winter don’t damage it. It’s not dying; just in a deep cold sleep. In the first warm days of spring you may see the large queens flying busily about the early bulbs and flowers. These large slow bees are searching for nectar and pollen to turn into honey and food for their newly hatching brood. The queen will locate a suitable place to build her nest. There are over 200 types of bumblebee and they look for a variety of sites. Most common are the leaf litter in a hedge bottom, an old mouse hole, a cool dark place under a large stone or under the wooden floor of a garden shed or other building. Because the bumblebee does not live in a large colony the nest is usually little bigger than half a grapefruit even in the busiest days of high summer. The queen begins a new nest with a ball of pollen and wax into which she lays
