[Bonus] Short - Dr. Dewey Caron: Fat Bees and Overwintering Success

In this BTP Short, Dr. Dewey Caron shares another of his "audio postcards," this time exploring the critical role of fat bees—also known as diutinus bees—in helping colonies survive winter. Dewey explains how these long-lived worker bees differ from their summer sisters, with enlarged fat bodies, higher protein reserves, and lower juvenile hormone levels, all tied to the key blood protein vitellogenin.

Drawing on published research papers, Dewey highlights how environmental cues such as declining pollen, temperature, and daylight trigger the production of winter bees, and how clustering helps colonies thermoregulate through the cold months. He e...