I have found that a weak colony will benefit from additional heat. To incubate brood and to maintain a healthy temperature requires that each bee contributes thermal units to the hive. In the event that the cluster is small, the heat required of each bee to maintain incubation temp over the brood area is increased for each individual, leaving the hive under stress. The stress will require each bee to attempt unusually high shivering activity, or the bees will succumb to cold stress. Either way, a small thermostatically controlled heat source can make up for lost biomass of bees and reduce the stress on the remaining bees. The thermostat should be set to allow the bees to maintain a normal level of heat by themselves, but failing that, the low temperature heating pad will assist in temperature maintenance. This approach will not "imbalance" the bee, nor create a weaker bee. The additional heat should not be continuous, but only on demand. When the bees are unable to maintain appropriate temperatures and become dormant, the air will not circulate well in the hive, humidity builds and other problems begin building and stressing the bees. A small amount of heat underneath the bottom board will cause an updraft of air, and if there is a ventilation outlet at the top, the circulation of air will keep humidity levels within an acceptable range. My assumption is that we are often keeping bees in an environment that they were not genetically equipped to thrive in. In order to aid them in their survival and propagation, we sometimes must adjust their environments to become closer to that of their indigenous environs. I, therefore, make Alaska seem more like southern California. I've found that when I assist them too much, (adding optimum continual heat rather than minimal controlled heat) they will come out of the hive and freeze in the outdoors. So thermostatic control is important. If set just to the minimum level of healthy survival, they are not "fooled" into thinking it is summer outside the hive. Steve Andison <BR>Alaska Resource Economic Development (ARED) <BR>(907) 790-2111 <BR>Fax: 907-790-1929 </BODY> </HTML>