The bee and butterfly population in our garden is decreasing as the days get cooler and the flowers near the end of their season...The sunshine helps! These wondrous creatures have been working hard all summer to gather enough nectar and pollen to feed themselves over the winter. The bees store honey (and protein) around the queen and the brood with extra stored above them in the hive. This honey is the food for the bees during the winter. Bees can survive winter in Minnesota, but the colony needs to weigh 130-180# in our northern climate to get all the way through until springtime! The bees have been too fast for me lately, but in these photos they are caught in flight :)