Bees are actually some of the cleanest insects, as they carry any debris, dead bees and even the Queen’s waste out of the hive. When the sun is out on a winter day and the temperature is 45 degrees or above, the bees will perform their “cleansing flights”. You may want to stand clear of a bee hive on these beautiful days warmed by the winter sun as you might find some little orange bee droppings all over you. Many times, I have found my bee truck covered in bee poo from being too close to the hives on a warm winter day.
On these sunny and warm winter days, the bees may also go out looking for sources of pollen or nectar. You can see the bees moving much more slowly when the weather is cold. This is also an easier time to find a feral hive because the leaves are not on the trees, and the bees are moving slower so it is easier to follow them back to their home. The bees are also flying about in winter looking for sources of water and sometimes medicines like mushroom mycelium or enzymes secreted from mushrooms for their health. In the southern states this is much easier to find because we might have a 75 degree day in January that brings out some of the lion’s mane, stinkhorn or oyster mushrooms.