this report starts with a respectable number of hives—

> A total of two hundred and twenty-five colonies were prepared for indoor wintering and fifty colonies were prepared for outdoor wintering.

here they explain that indoor wintering is a form of packing—

> The advocates of cellar wintering maintained that cellars were, in effect, sheltering the whole apiary in a protective environment, thereby achieving the same or a better, degree of protection as packing and insulating outdoor wintered colonies

results—

> Comparisons were made between indoor wintered colonies, outdoor wintered colonies, and package bee colonies in the following spring
and summer of 1977 on the basis of brood production, adult population and honey production. Outdoor wintered colonies had the highest brood production, largest adult populations and produced the most honey.  There was no significant difference between package and indoor wintered colonies in terms of total brood production and adult populations; however, the package colonies produced more honey.

John Michael Gruszka, 1979. INDOOR WINTERING 0F HONEY BEE COLONIES IN MANITOBA

comment—
As I have shown, there are credible reports where heavily packed colonies do best, where the best are outdoors and unpacked, and where there is no observable effect. Bottom line: you figure it out.

PLB

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