Allen said " A double brood hive should weigh a MINIMUM of 110 lbs (with normal-type floor and lid) to stand a good chance of wintering well in continental North America, north of 40 degrees or so". Living in MN I agree unless you are talking Russian bees that according to the last USDA study only consume 18 pounds during winter. My experience with these bees is a plugged brood nest in spring is a bigger problem from over feeding then starvation. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Access BEE-L directly at: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L