Cold generally doesn’t bother bees, where they are used to it. It will be 7 degrees here in WV on sat. And my wife’s hives will be fine. The bees basically cluster in a ball and flap their wings to stay warm. It can be 95 degrees in the center of the cluster and freezing outside. Snow on the hives will act as insulation. Making sure there is enough food (honey) in the hive to get the bees through the winter is key.
If there is no stored food and the bees are not strong enough to ward off such a sudden and unaccustomed drop in temperature then there could be problems. The temperature is suppose to pop back up and the beekeepers will be checking the hives the first day over 50 degrees.
The cattle, sheep and horses are the ones in real trouble. Mostly due to frozen water sources.
Thanks for the insight. We’ve been in the Deep Freeze for 11 days straight, now - longest run in many, many years - breaking lost of records.
We’ve been watering out animals 2x a day, plus putting water in with the dogs’ kibble at suppertime.
We’re turning a corner, though, thank goodness!