This is my first winter with bees. setup I live in southern Quebec , about 20 miles from the New Hampshire border in USDA zone 4. This fall I fed my 2 hives fumagillan medicated syrup, covered the hives with black fiberboard and as per Richard Bonney I inversed the inner covers and added fiberboard on top to absorb the condensation and also provided ventilation. I placed a 3 foot high wind break 10 feet behind the hives on the NW side. The weather has been relatively mild recently, -4 to 0 degrees C(30 to 36 degrees F)with no wind. problem This morning I found the bottom boards covered in dead bees and other dead bees scattered in the snow in front of the hives. I even found the odd bee 10, 20, 30 feet in front of the hives. When I approached the hives I seen 2 bees fly out and off in the distance as if to forage (-4 degrees C and overcast). What gives? Michael