Bumble bees in the winter: the ultimate cozy survival guide

Posted onJanuary 30, 2026byAnnika Wilcox|Bumble Bee Recovery, Bumble Bees, Native Pollinator Initiative, News and Events, Pollinators, Yellow Banded BumblebeePhoto: Found late in the summer, this yellow bumble bee (Bombus fervidus) queen is very likely a gyne, the newest generation of queens produced by the colony. During the fall, gynes focus on finding males to mate with and building up fat reserves for the winter. Photo by Annika Wilcox.

What is the Bumble Bee Recovery Program? Since the 1990s, bumble bee numbers have been plummeting, and that spells ecological disaster. Ninety per cent of all flowering plants — including most of the fruits and vegetables in your fridge — need these pollinators in order to reproduce.

Until the causes of these declines can be reversed, conservation breeding and reintroduction is the only way to safeguard at-risk bumble bees. Today, WPC is the only organization in Canada rebuilding wild bee populations through conservation breeding. Thanks to recent breakthroughs, we’ve figured out how to dramatically increase the number of queens we produce. Once they’re released into the wild, they can establish their own colonies, producing hundreds of pollinators to sustain the ecosystems around them.

As a certified bug fanatic, the winter is admittedly not my favourite time of year here in southern Ontario. As I’m bundling up in a big puffy coat and mittens, it basically feels like the insect world has completely shut down – I haven’t seen a butterfly in months, I barely remember what the buzzing of a busy bumble bee sounds like, and even mosquito bites feel like a distant memory!

But bumble bees and other insects haven’t vanished – they’ve just mastered the art of winter survival, something I’m still trying to figure out myself.

BumbleLifecycle_JeremyHemberger_survivalguideblog

The lifecycle of a bumble bee. Illustration by Jeremy Hemberger.

Bumble bees live life fast. Unlike honey bees, which maintain active colonies year-round, bumble bee colonies only last for a single season. By late summer and early fall, the colony is wrapping up its business. Workers that spent months foraging and tending to the nest begin to die off, and the old queen who founded the colony reaches the end of her life. The future of the species rests entirely on the new generation of queens.

These young queens, called gynes, are busy bees in the fall. They spend the final warm weeks finding late-blooming flowers and consuming as much nectar and pollen as possible, packing on energy reserves like athletes carb-loading before a big game. Once they have stored up enough fat to sustain them through the winter and temperatures begin to drop, each queen sets out to find a cozy winter hideaway. Underground burrows, loose soil, compost piles, leaf litter, and old mouse tunnels all make excellent cold-weather condos.

Yellow-banded bumble bee (Bombus terricola) queen found on early-blooming apple flowers during a spring survey. The pollen on this bee’s back legs suggests that she has already found a suitable nesting site and has begun establishing her own colony after a long winter’s rest. Photo by Cole Blair.

Then comes the real magic: diapause. This insect version of hibernation allows the queen to slow her metabolism to a crawl. Her heart pumps more slowly, and natural antifreeze compounds in her body protect her cells from freezing, allowing her to survive the long, cold winter months.

When spring finally arrives, the queens emerge hungry and determined. They waste no time in visiting early-flowering plants like willows, trout lilies, and serviceberries before searching for a new nesting site. From there, the cycle begins again: eggs are laid, workers are raised, and soon a whole new colony is back in business.

When the winter seems endless, it sure is nice to know that the bumble bees I love are weathering out the cold alongside me. Leaving some leaf litter when you put your garden to sleep in the fall and planting a few early-blooming flowers is an easy way to return the favour.

AuricomusQueen__survivalguideblog_JEvans.

A black and gold bumble bee (Bombus auricomus) queen caught during a spring survey. If you find a bee in the spring and are wondering if it’s a queen, a good hint is the size – in many Ontario species the queen is significantly larger than the workers. Take a look at how huge this queen is! Photo by Julia Evans.

Lessons Learned from Winter Bumble Bees:

Bumble…Bundle up: leaf litter is a bee’s version of good boots, a parka, and a pile of blankets. Layer up and dig out that heated blanket, and it’ll be t-shirt weather before you know it!
Take a rest: if a bumble bee tried to “stay productive” all winter, it wouldn’t make it to spring. It’s okay to slow down sometimes.
Fuel up, guilt free: do you think the bees ever say, “I really shouldn’t visit that last flower, I already had a lot of nectar today“? Nope. Go ahead, eat that extra cookie. You’re just channeling your inner queen bee.

Annika Wilcox

Ontario Programs Coordinator – Bumble Bee Recovery Program

Annika joined the WPC Loggerhead Shrike team as a Research Biologist in 2025 before moving to the Native Pollinator Initiative as Ontario Programs Coordinator. She has ample experience in environmental outreach, wildlife rehabilitation, and the ecological monitoring of birds, at-risk amphibians, reptiles, and insects. Annika holds a Master’s degree in Integrative Biology from the University of Guelph, where she researched the limiting factors of restored agricultural wetlands as a breeding habitat for birds, with an emphasis on Species at Risk.

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Bumble bees in the winter: the ultimate cozy survival guide

Annika Wilcox

Ontario Programs Coordinator – Bumble Bee Recovery Program

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