Well, some things have changed and some haven't.  Minus 70 wind chill
today, actually only minus 35 at Missoula.
 
You won't get any answer from Bozeman if you try to contact the State
Entomologist.  No bee work and no state entomologist at that
institution.  A couple of us work on bees at the University in Missoula.
We did swap names a few years back.. Bozeman used to be MT State College
and we were MSU, but now we are The University of Montana-Missoula, and
our sister campus is MSU-Bozeman.  I especially like the The in our name.
 
State has an entomologist of sorts, but she is in Helena in the Dept. of
Agriculture.
 
What else, well we still can get lots of honey in a good year.
 
Nobody uses sawdust as per the article.  Wrapping varies from nothing, to
waxed cardboard boxes (commercially available), to a bit of roofing felt
on top, to wrapping in black roofing felt.  Over the years we found that
sawdust, straw, etc. can get wet during the January thaw and then freeze
your hive into a block of ice.  Hardly anyone uses the top insulation all
the Canadians use.  Many feel less is more.  Main thing in this state is
to reduce the bottom entrance, seal the worst cracks from wind (which is
why the wraps), add an inner cover, and throw some rocks on top to keep
the wind from blowing them off.
 
Most of our folks keep some spare supers of honey and may even snowmobile
in to the hives in February to see if they need some food.
 
My own experience is protect them from the wind.  Whether all the
insulation, etc. does much good is an open question.
 
Jerry Bromenshenk
 
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P.S. I do wrap in roofing felt.