> What does it mean when you see hundreds of bee abdomens sticking out of a comb in a hive that contains no honey? I’ve always believed it meant the bees starved, but Tom Seeley says I’m dead wrong. His comment was forwarded to me, “Rusty is mistaken.  Worker bees deep in cells, with heads down, are a normal part of a winter cluster.

I think this is splitting hairs. He is talking about bees with heads in cells -- that are alive. You are talking about dead bees. It's pretty clear that they starved but before that they looked the same, only they were still alive. We all know bees can starve while there is plenty of honey, and that they can survive cold temperatures. But also, they can get too cold to move and therefore starve in place, because they can't move to the honey. This has been observed for at least 150 years. 

> The most of my bees starved to death with plenty of honey in the hive. The trouble was the intense cold lasted so long the bees eat all the honey out of the cluster and could not move to where the honey was. Bee-Keepers Magazine. JANUARY, 1875. 

> it often happens that the cluster moves toward one side; and when the honey on that side is consumed they fail to cross over to the opposite side, and so starve with plenty of honey in the hive, but seemingly out of their reach. Doolittle, G. M. (1922). Management of Out-apiaries.

> During moderating temperatures, the cluster will break up. With the return of a sudden cold period, the bees re-cluster and by chance may choose a location not well provisioned with food. Some winter losses are of this coincidental nature, and may involve large colonies that were left with ample stores. The colony will be found dead in the spring, with honey stores at some distance from the cluster of dead bees. Johansson, T. S. K., & Johansson, M. P. (1979). The honeybee colony in winter.

PLB

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