<However, I've spoken to Canadian beekeepers who feed singles prior to wintering until every comb is filled (45kg total weight goal). Their bees winter successfully. So much for our common sense> Living in MT, that was what I was taught to do. But, just before he passed from pancreatic cancer, I had a long talk with Southwick. He placed whole colonies in a -80 freezer and conducted studies. He found: 1) As the temp dropped, the cluster tightened, until the hairs were inter-laced, 2) Food consumed was lowest at temperatures just below freezing, but went up dramatically at really cold temps, 3) When it was VERY cold, the cluster would move over against an outside, EMPTY comb. They would press their bodies against the empty cells, in essence, producing a DEAD AIR space, for better insulation. After that discussion, I stopped moving a honey frame into the space adjacent to the side wall(s) of each hive body. Like many, I had assumed that the bees just didn't get around to fully filling those frames. It appears, the bees wanted it that way. Jerry *********************************************** 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 Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm