From spring build- up to winter survival, discover how a honey bee colony changes through the seasons

As spring arrives, fresh pollen and nectar help the colony build up after winter. With more food coming into the hive and warmer, longer days, the Queen increases her egg laying, allowing the colony to grow rapidly for the season ahead.

During summer, the colony is at its busiest. Worker bees spend the early part of their lives carrying out different jobs inside the hive before eventually becoming foragers, flying out to collect nectar, pollen, water and propolis.

A worker bee may live for only around six weeks during the height of summer, with her role changing as she ages. Read on to discover the differnt jobs she carries out within the colony.

Some worker bees act as attendants to the Queen, feeding and grooming her as she moves through the hive. They also help spread her pheromones throughout the colony, signalling to the other bees that the Queen is present and well.

Before they become guard bees and foragers, worker bees carry out a range of jobs inside the hive. Younger workers clean cells and feed developing larvae, while others produce wax and build comb.

Nectar brought back by foragers is passed to house bees, which add emzymes and move it within the comb as its moisture content is gradually reduced.

Other workers fan their wings to ventilate the hive and help regulate its temperature and humidity, keeping conditions right for the brood and the colony.

As worker bees get older, some take on guard duty at the hive entrance. They check returning bees by scent and help protect the colony from wasps, robber bees and other intruders. If the hive is threatened, guard bees can raise the alarm and recruit other workers to help defend it.

As worker bees reach the later stages of their lives, many become foragers. They leave the hive to collect nectar, pollen, water and propolis, travelling between flowers and plants before returning with what the colony needs. As they forage, they also transfer pollen from flower to flower, playing an important role in pollination.

As autumn arrives, the colony begins preparing for winter. The Queens laying slows, the population starts to reduce and the bees concentrate on building and protecting their stores. Remaining nectar is ripened and sealed as honey as the colony gradually contracts for the colder months ahead.

As winter arrives, the colony becomes much less active. The bees form a cluster inside the hive, generating and conserving heat while gradually working their way through the honey stores collected during the season. On milder days they may briefly leave the hive, but most of their time is spent together protecting the Queen and surviving the colder months.