Hi Adam and All

I feed my bees using ziplock bags directly on the top bars.  I leave  
the spacers on until I remove the packing in the spring.  Some hives  
do as you say, but they don't cluster they stay active in the rim  
space.  Most hives cluster centred  in the brood box, they move right  
(hive facing southerly) toward the warmer afternoon sunny side.  If we  
get a severe cold snap in Feb/Mar, the bees don't get back to the left/ 
east side where 1-3 frames of honey remain untouched.

My bees are all near my house and I check the hives, on mild sunny  
days, throughout the winter.  I don't pull frames but open the flaps  
of the sleeve, lift the inner cover briefly to see where the bees are.  
I have seen hives hit the west wall and move up into the rim space as  
their stores there are depleted.  I give them a slab of fondant at  
that point and usually bring them through to spring.  I start feeding  
syrup and pollen subst when the weather breaks, usually about mid- 
March.  The rim left all winter allows me to do this and, I think,  
helps to vent the moisture out the top entrance.

Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
44N80W

PS: sorry Aaron for the quotes, I thought it was off list

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