a Bill T snip followed by > my comments..
Just listened to a talk by our State Apiarist on overwintering nucs, which
are classic "small hives". The method is to put another nuc flush against
it and a nuc of honey over each. Result is a two deep configuration. Love
the irony

>Correct me if I am wrong here but isn't this the same method Michael Palmer uses?

>As a side bar of information as to how shape and configuration can matter I recall an old article in the ABJ written by Steve Taber on various shapes of hives placed in extreme conditions to measure survival (I seem to think these were experiments when he worked for the USDA).   From what I can recall those hives that were made up narrow and tall (kind of like a hive in the hollow of a tree) seem to display the best survival rate.  Another point he made was perfect comb was not necessarily what you wanted in a hive since the imperfections allowed the bees to move horizontally.

Gene in Central Texas  

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