>>The most common reason to fly in the winter would seem to be for a cleansing flight. Right. Although my bees had been making collection and defecation flights for 2-3 days prior to the snow fall. I did look and did not see any bee stains on the snow. >>There are also bees performing an undertaker role by removing their deceased sisters from the hive creating the litter in the snow. I looked at the bees flying out of the hives and none were dragging dead bees. All dead bees had been taken out on nice days prior to the snow. >>Water might indeed be necessary to dilute food at times but it is perhaps not the primary need for these winter flights. Water can be obtained from condensation and other external melted sources unless it is extremely cold. I observed a line of bees eagerly taking up water from the melting snow on a hive's entrance. My hives have good top ventilation and the hives don't have much condensed water inside. Increasing brood requires a lot of diluted honey. >>I would NOT put a division board feeder with water in the hive because of the "thermal load" it would impose on them. The division board feeder does not need to be full - even 1/8 full is plenty for what the bees can use - and it would take the place of the last frame (away from the cluster). The water, if anything, just like in greenhouses, would act as a thermal equalizer absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night. Bees would take up the water and transfer it into cells in or near the cluster during the day's warmth or they'd right away use the water to dilute the honey and store that for later use. As far as cold temps, even frozen water will not get colder than O deg C. When it's -10 deg C outside, it's -10 deg C in the hive away from the cluster. I don't think it's an issue. Waldemar ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************