Paul wonders about wintering nucs; specifically wintering them indoors.
Paul a great deal has been written in American Bee Journal and Gleanings
about wintering nucs indoors in Canada.  The Canadians put a lot of effort
into this when imports of packages from the US were banned.  Unfortunately I
can t provide references but if you called either I am certain they would
give you the references for their magazine.
As I recall the principal difficulties are keeping the bees cold enough,
i.e. dissipating the heat generated by the nucs.
Why not winter them outdoors?  My method is to split a standard Langsforth
into two with a piece of 3/8  plywood down the center.  The bottom is a
piece of =  pressed board, fastened with nails.  Into each side goes both
four frames and a feeder or five frames; depending on whether some frames
full of honey are available for other hives.  Entrance holes are provided on
opposite sides and are up near the top.  A piece of burlap, grain sack, or
oil cloth goes across the top of the frames so the bees can t get from one
side to the other.  It is best to buy queens so you don t have to wait too
long before she starts laying.
Splits made now or in August should be chock full ( blocked out ) with honey
by late October.  Then they are put on top of a strong hive for the winter.
The heat from the strong hive will, of course, rise and provide some warmth
to the two nucs.  The pressed board bottom will absorb water moisture from
the hive below, but I still make certain there is a crack or hole for
excessive moisture to escape.  We get nights of 20 below on a regular basis,
and the nucs survive just fine.  Because the queens will start laying in
January or February, these will produce very strong hives capable of
producing a full crop in 1999.
Good luck!
Lloyd
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Owner, Ross Rounds  the finest in comb honey production.