Hi all, It got into the 40s (degrees F., 5+ degrees C) here today, 20 miles south of the Wisconsin line, 100 miles west of Chicago, and so I checked my beeses to see how they is doing: All five are strong and building! In seven years, I have never had all of them make it through, (recognizing that we are not there yet,) but what a neat feeling! They are all at the top of double hive bodies, and the combs I could see there appeared empty of honey. One hive, the end one, had a _large_ pile of dead bees at the entrance, but there were lots inside. This winter, I have done the following things that seem to have worked so far: 1. I put mite strips on for six weeks in September - October, and I kept baggie feeders on them then with sugar syrup. Toward the end, I mixed in some wintergreen oil per Jim Amrine's findings. They took a lot of syrup down, but never did really fill the combs. Each hive probably used 2 1/2 gallons (9.5 liters) or so. 2. I moved the hives up beside the barn, out of the wind, where I could watch things better. I tried to keep the bottom entrances clear of snow, and open. (#1 was clogged, probably the cause of the pile of dead bees.) I tilted them all well forward to let moisture run out. (There was water on the front edge of all the inner covers.) 3. I added a one inch thick styrofoam board under the outer cover. I broke about three inches (10 cm) off a corner of each foam piece for an upper entrance, and added a small wood scrap on top of the inner cover to (mostly) block wind blowing in this area. I put the scraps of the styrofoam and some straw between and behind the hives for more insulation, but didn't try to fill it in all the way. 4. In January, I have poured dry sugar in a ring around the inner cover hole. They have come up and taken down quite a bit of the sugar. I also fed them some honey I have saved for them. I have some pollen patties in the freezer from last year that I will also put on, as they definitely are raising brood. Given the light weights, I plan on feeding continuous until the dandelions come. (Does anyone else out there plant dandelions also? ;-) That is our spring buildup flower, but people fight to eradicate it from their lawns!) I'm open to all the bullets we got on the mites, (silver or otherwise!) and have followed this problem and potential solutions closely. It does sound like there are a few more options to try this year, at least! Seeing the price of packages and queens this year, I am glad for the survival so far. Good Luck to you all! Gerry and the other Visels at [log in to unmask] Winnebago, Illinois, USA