"Seeley has done extensive experimentation with nest boxes and honey bees are certainly attracted to man made boxes, at least as much as they are to rotten trees." 

That may be so, Peter, but Derek Mitchell's point is (I think) that, from his "mass conductance ratio" analysis (thermal mass of bees, wax, wood wrt heat loss through the wood) elongated cavities in trees provide for a good environment for the bees to maintain optimal thermal and relative humidity and that winter condensation would likely occur only down near the entrance below the brood nest and hence is not a problem.

No-one has commented on the points that higher temperatures reduced incidence of nosema and chalkbrood and higher humidity helps keep varroa numbers low. His paper has the references to such sources but I have been unable to get my hands on it as yet.

John

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