I love the winter thaw. Those warm winter afternoons in early January and February when the sun shines brightly and the snow starts to melt are just what my bees need. You’ll see them happily leave the hive, getting out to stretch their wings, and maybe find a spot of water.

Don’t think they are just dumb bees, hoping to find nectar during these bleak brown-and-gray months. These mid-winter trips are called cleansing flights. The bees use them primarily to cleanse themselves, that is, take a bee dump. Bees will not defecate inside the hive, so an occasional warm day is a welcome sight.

Equally so, seeing bees flying from my hives when the weather warms is a welcome sight for me, too! It means that my bees are at least healthy enough to take care of business. The level of activity at the upper and lower entrances also give me a clue as to how many bees have survived the cold temperatures.

I have been told that temperatures need to reach at least 45 degrees for bees to break cluster and start flying. A strong warm sun and lack of wind also helps.

Today we had one of those perfect winter days. Three of my four hives at home had bees waiting at the entrances. My friend Emily, who has two hives on our property, had bees that were just as busy. What an uplift to my spirits!

My fourth hive stood quiet under the pine tree. It could be that the sun wasn’t hitting it full enough to warm the hive. I don’t want to lift the cover and peek – on these still-chilly days it is not a good idea to disturb the cluster and risk chilling the bees.

So I’ll just have to wait. That’s the hard part about keeping bees.