Hi all,
 
   It got into the 40s (degrees F., 5+ degrees C) here today, 20 miles
south of the Wisconsin line, 100 miles west of Chicago, and so I checked
my beeses to see how they is doing:
 
   All five are strong and building!  In seven years, I have never had
all of them make it through, (recognizing that we are not there yet,) but
what a neat feeling!  They are all at the top of double hive bodies, and
the combs I could see there appeared empty of honey.  One hive, the end
one, had a  _large_ pile of dead bees at the entrance, but there were
lots inside.
 
   This winter, I have done the following things that seem to have worked
so far:
 
1.  I put mite strips on for six weeks in September - October, and I kept
baggie feeders on them then with sugar syrup.  Toward the end, I mixed in
some wintergreen oil per Jim Amrine's findings.  They took a lot of syrup
down, but never did really fill the combs. Each hive probably used 2 1/2
gallons (9.5 liters) or so.
 
2.  I moved the hives up beside the barn, out of the wind, where I could
watch things better.  I tried to keep the bottom entrances clear of snow,
and open.  (#1 was clogged, probably the cause of the pile of dead bees.)
 I tilted them all well forward to let moisture run out.  (There was
water on the front edge of all the inner covers.)
 
3.  I added a one inch thick styrofoam board under the outer cover.  I
broke about three inches (10 cm) off a corner of each foam piece for an
upper entrance, and added a small wood scrap on top of the inner cover to
(mostly) block wind blowing in this area.  I put the scraps of the
styrofoam and some straw between and behind the hives for more
insulation, but didn't try to fill it in all the way.
 
4.  In January, I have poured dry sugar in a ring around the inner cover
hole.  They have come up and taken down quite a bit of the sugar.  I also
fed them some honey I have saved for them.  I have some pollen patties in
the freezer from last year that I will also put on, as they definitely
are raising brood.  Given the light weights, I plan on feeding continuous
until the dandelions come.  (Does anyone else out there plant dandelions
also?  ;-)  That is our spring buildup flower, but people fight to
eradicate it from their lawns!)
 
   I'm open to all the bullets we got on the mites, (silver or
otherwise!) and have followed this problem and potential solutions
closely.  It does sound like there are a few more options to try this
year, at least!  Seeing the price of packages and queens this year, I am
glad for the survival so far.
 
Good Luck to you all!
 
Gerry and the other Visels at
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Winnebago, Illinois, USA