Fellow Beekeepers:
 
I am a novice beekeeper in New Brunswick, Canada.  Our winters are fairly
cold.  We have about 100 frost-free days a year.  Is there anyone who could
instruct me on some details of overwintering in "multiple colony packs"?
 
1. What are the pros and cons?
 
2. One method I've seen proposes wintering up to 24 "well-fed" colonies in
a pack, each confined to a single hive body.  Would colonies so wintered
have enough stores to sustain them over the winter without a super of honey
above each one?
 
3. The hives used in a multiple colony pack must have "short" bottom boards
(flush with the hive body).  Does the absence of a "landing edge" on the
bottom board present a challenge to landing bees?
 
4. Entrances in multiple colony packs face East, West, and South.
Therefore, some entrances are on the "long" (20 inch) side of the bottom
board.  Can these same bottom boards be used in the summer? (ie. the bees
entering and exiting on the "long" side)  Will the absence of a landing
edge be an extra burden on bees bringing in large loads of pollen and
nectar?
 
5. I  currently overwinter my hives in two supers with an  hole for
ventilation just above the upper super.  The multiple colony method I read
about does not include upper ventilation holes on each colony.  Won't this
cause problems for the bees?
 
An instruction on these matters will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.
 
Richard Albert
R.R.#1
Norton, NB
CANADA  E0G 2N0
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