Regarding Richard's questions about overwintering bees in a
greenhouse:
 
Unless you enjoy hard work and feeding your bees, I would not
overwinter them in the greenhouse. Overwintering bees is a balancing
act between having enough bees to kick-start the colony in the spring,
and having enough stores in the colony so that they don't starve. Too
many bees, and they will consume all available stores. Too few bees,
and you may not have enough for a strong early spring build-up.
Besides, moving colonies in the fall is a pain - those suckers are HEAVY!
in the fall. At least they should be.
 
Continuing the thoughts on "sufficient stores", I believe that honeybees
do have an optimal "overwintering temperature" based on the following
observations: In warm conditions, the bees are more active taking
cleansing flights, and just generally moving around more inside the
colony. As a result of this increased activity, they consume more honey.
In very cold conditions, they need to consume more honey to keep the
cluster sufficiently warm. So somewhere in the middle is an ideal
temperature.
 
Other factors play into the thermal balance - wind makes the apparent
temperature much lower, thus increasing usage of stores. Condensing
moisture can be a problem - wet bees have a harder time staying warm.
A nice snow pack around a colony provides insulation, and keeps the
wind out, and this is an ideal overwintering condition in my area, but we
often don't get "enough" snow (I'm fairly close to the ocean, so the
winter temps are moderated somewhat as compared to my inland
neighbors)
 
Here in New England, I don't know of any beekeepers that overwinter
indoors. I personally just leave my colonies out in their yards, being sure
there is sufficient ventilation to avoid moisture condensation problems.
Some folks in my area wrap their colonies with tar paper to help insulate
them, and warm the colony with the winter sun - I don't bother and my
colonies seem to get through just fine. For me, the labor of moving the
bees in and out doesn't justify the "benefits" of indoor overwintering,
especially as I think the benefits are limited given my climate.
 
The real keys to strong spring buildup,  in my opinion, is 1) monitor your
colonies to make sure they don't starve, 2) prompt the bees into early
brood rearing with early feeding of sugar syrup to simulate a nectar
flow, and make sure they have enough pollen - natural pollen is best:
feed back the pollen you trapped last year. Pollen substitute is, well, a
subsitute. It works, but not as well as the real thing. It is easy to
overstimulate the bees and get into a swarming situation so make sure
you provide enough space for the bees. Once you start feeding, you
should continue feeding until natural nectar and pollen sources are
available - if you stop feeding, a lot of brood will likely be sacrificed,
especially if stores in the colony are low.
 
How much and how early to feed is very dependent on your location,
and experience is the best teacher here. Good luck! I hope you found my
ramblings useful.
 
Rick Hough,
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A Bee-L lurker with 50 colonies just NE of Boston, MA