Randy MsDuff, age 10, of The Pas, Manitoba, Canada, for his question:

WHERE DO WILD BEES SPEND THE WINTER?

Most of our wild honeybees are descended from ancestors that escaped from their hives. Usually they build the family nest in a hollow tree. During the summer they fill their waxy combs with stores of honey. Come fall the queen produces no more eggs, many older workers die, and the lazy drones are driven outdoors. The cracks are sealed in the nest with special wax, then the queen and the remaining workers crowd inside to spend the winter.

They cuddle together in a brown furry ball to keep themselves warm and ration the honey to last until spring. However, many other wild bees live solitary lives, and only the queen survives the winter. For example, come fall the queen bumblebee crawls into a cozy tunnel and waits for spring. Then she comes forth to start a new family.