Winter begins for us...spring around the bend for bees

So the winter solstice has passed and we are officially in the winter season.  The bee colony runs on a different schedule .  In a normal winter pattern (what's that these days) the queen bee would have been taking a break from egg laying for several weeks.  Shortly after or around the winter solstice she will begin to lay a few eggs (maybe only 4 or 5 a day.)  As the weeks go by and some pollen/nectar sources increase the number of eggs laid each day will increase.  After 3 weeks of maturing these will be new bees born to replace the older dying colony bees.  Very shortly, Spring will be on inside the hives...even though it may be wintery and cold outside !