>  Is this a protective mechanism or is it just a holdover from previous ages of species development?

Well, yes on the second part. Whether or not it has benefit, is the question. It could ... Tom Seeley stated that new swarms failed 80% of the time in the northern climate, but the ones that survived had much better success the following winter. 

Now, it could be that the 20% that made it the first winter, did so because they had picked the best nest sites. Or, because they had time to properly prepare the nest for winter, including hatching a number of consecutive brood cycles, and reinforcing the combs. 

These are hard questions and no one really has the answers to them. I just went through a bunch of hives today with a friend and most of the combs looked decades old. The idea of throwing out old combs just because they're old has not reached everyone, that's for sure.

PLB

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