Randy,
       But in your colder climate, perhaps the colony
       consumes the honey immediately above the brood too quickly.

        Anyone else in a cold climate that can confirm/refute?

That is exactly the problem.The bees consume the honey all the way to the
top and run out and starve- unless you put sugar or any feed over them and
in contact with them.

What I am trying to determine is temperature and time that would prevent
them from moving just the few inches either side to survive. Right now it
appears to be two days at outside temperature at about 40F and cloudy or
rain so there is no other heat source. In the spring, with brood, this
would restrict the bees from moving to the honey near them.

It is purely an academic exercise as the solution is easy- candy right over
the cluster. But it does have a practical side and that is that it needs to
be candy and probably not syrup for the same reason- in contact with the
bees.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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