Jane, Were some brood in your's dead hive? If so, there could be one another scenario of dying of your bees. Bees really can survive at very low temperature, but problem is when they have a brood in a hive. I have some experience in my beekeeping with dead families in the early spring. What can happen? Sometimes in january or in february is a short period (a week or so) of nice warm bees. First pollen forage and warm weather triggers lying eggs and formation of new brood in a hive. As you know, bees take care of brood. They are quiet precise about temperature regulation. As I know they will never over hit the brood! When cold whether is coming back, bees are making more tide cluster to override hit lose. But, what about brood. They don't leave it unattended and they don't overheat it. That means they can go over the brood temperature in the center of the cluster. During cold whether in a families without the brood, center of the cluster can reach temperature close to 40deg.C. But never with the brood. If the family is small it have to be cluster more then it could be because of limitations by brood presence. I suppose that is showed up in enabling of bees on the outside of the cluster to make more tide cluster. The result is to low body temperature of the core bees, which REALLY die because of cold. I'm expecting the family is broken down very fast. Could be in one night. Perhaps there could be also a problem how to reach the food stores, when the cluster is formed around the brood with some empty cells around brood and away from honey comb. Our beekeepers in Slovenia say, bees are starving at full desk Again, do you have brood in your hive with dead bees ? With regards, Janko ======================================================= Janko Bozic OFFICE: Department of Zoology & Physiology Louisiana State University _ _________ Baton Rouge, LA 70803 /_\_____/_ tel. 504 388 1769 //* \O O/ *\ fax. 504 388 1763 / *** \O/ *** / ** / \ ** HOME: / * _._ * 1222 Jim Taylor No.9 \.../ Baton Rouge LA 70820 \I/ tel. 504 767 4681 l BITNNET: ZOBOZI@LSUVM INTERNET: [log in to unmask] =======================================================