What do honey bees do in Autumn?

How doth the little busy bee

Improve each shining hour,

And gather honey all the day

From every opening flower.

Isaac Watts - Against Idleness

(Can you see the pollen sacks on the rear legs of the bee?)



Honeybees remain active all through autumn preparing for winter by storing some honey.

Planting flowers that bloom in autumn will help the bees, Some easy to look after flowers are heathers, cornflowers, sunflowers and baby's breath.

Heather

Cornflower

Sunflower

 Baby's breath

If it gets too cold the bees will stay in the hive and gather on the honeycomb making body heat by moving their wings in a different way than when in flight. The queen will slow down her egg laying, or even stop.
The worker bees control the hive's temperature so it does not drop below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. In the nursery, where the baby bees are, it is 93 degrees.

When the weather gets warmer the bees will go out to gather pollen, and the colony will start up again.