On feb 7, Kerry Clark wrote: > One thing the pannel could not comment on: is there a difference in bees > winter success on plastic vs wax foundation (everyone on the panel > wintered their bees in the warm south). There was a comment about > plastic not conducting heat as well as wax (meant as a criticism of > plastic, though it seems it should be an advantage) but no one had a > strong opinion. What has been your experience, Allen, Jean-Pierre? The suitability of plastic frames for wintering is an issue that has been raised by some beekeepers (non-users). Personnally I have not really tested them yet. I have seen pictures though of beautiful strong colonies, all on plastic, in a Alberta wintering yard with plenty of snow surrounding them. Plastic frames are a new thing in my area. I was the first to introduce them in Quebec two years ago. So nobody really has a good experience with them. Last year I had only a few plactic frames scattered in the brood chambers of my wintered colonies. This winter most of the 110 colonies that were wintered outdoors have only plastic frames in their second super. Next year probably quite a few colonies will winter outdoors completely on plastic. So fairly soon, I should be able to comment on the suitability of plastic frames for wintering. Jean-Pierre Chapleau eleveur de reines / queen breeder 1282, rang 8, Saint-Adrien de Ham, Quebec, Canada, J0A 1C0 tel./phone (819) 828-3396; fax (819) 828-0357 [log in to unmask]