Hi all

As I have stated in the past, I think most beekeepers misunderstand the nature of bees in winter. Bees do not attempt to heat the hive. Any heat coming off of the cluster is waste heat, like the heat coming off of a car engine. The bees try to stay warm as individuals, so the process is a self-regulating system. There is no central heating system, no central thermostat. There are many examples of self-regulating systems, and they succeed or fail on their own merits. 

Attempts to control or regulate such systems can backfire, like it did in the late 1800s with bee hives. They packed and insulated the hives so much, the bees actually did worse (too damp). Of course, outdoor wintering without packing is inherently risky as well. That's why so many beekeepers move the bees south. There is no sure fire way to get bees through winter. Radical shifts in ambient temperature no doubt do the most harm. 

* * *

Honey bee colonies consist of tens of thousands
of individuals all acting autonomously but
as part of a complex society.  However, it has
been demonstrated that in honey bee swarms the
bees in the centre (core) do not communicate with
those on the surface (mantle) (Heinrich, 1981).

This seems to support the hypothesis that the
formation and behaviour of the cluster is the
result of independent actions by individual bees.

1. Each bee bases her behaviour exclusively on
her local temperature.

2. Bees have a preferred range of temperatures.
Inside this range a bee moves randomly. When
she is outside this range she will move in the
appropriate direction along the temperature
gradient.

3. Below a lower threshold temperature a bee
will go into a "chill coma" and will be unable
to move.

4. A bee's heat production is based on her metabolic
rate which is an increasing function of
temperature. Bees in a coma generate no heat.

Shape and Dynamics of Thermoregulating Honey Bee Clusters
D. J. T. SUMPTER AND D. S. BROOMHEAD
J. theor. Biol. (2000) 204, 1-14

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