Gregory Bay, age 11, of Toronto, Canada, for his question:

WHAT DO HONEYBEES EAT IN WINTER?

Honey, of course, is made to feed the thriving hive through the busy summer season. But that's not the only reason. The busy bees store enough honey to last them through the winter. This is when the queen and the surviving workers huddle together inside the hive. During this period, both the queen and workers live on honey and the precious supplies are rationed.

The average colony consumes about 50 pounds of honey during the winter. A beekeeper removes the summer supply and expects the bees to make all or most of their winter supplies during the fall. But sometimes the season is too cool or too wet. Then the stores on hand are weighed, and the beekeeper makes up the difference, usually with a mixture of two parts of sugar dissolved in one part water.   

If the bees have only 35 pounds of honey, he adds a gallon of sugar syrup to bring the total supply to 50 pounds.