Joe: "The obvious question (at least obvious to me),  is
how would a wintering cluster of bees distribute
the heat effectively throughout the cluster? "

Many years ago, here in Dorset, England a beekeeper had some bees in 
skeps on a glass shelf under cover in his boat yard.  When they were 
clustered for winter he sprayed the outside of the cluster with dye.  
Gradually, over days, he was able to observe that the dyed bees entered 
the lower part cluster , eventually to re-emerge near the top and go 
round again, almost like a convection current.  So they take turns at 
being snug in the middle and being part of the insulating curtain on 
the outside.

Chris







  

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