> Actually, they do. Some years my hives are totally buried by snow. So deep
> you need a long handled shovel, handle first, to find them. If you dig the
> hives out of the snow you'll see what I mean. There is a chamber formed
> around the hive, where there is no snow. Did it melt? I would think so.

Yup, that's my experience.  In fact many beekeepers actually shovel or blow
snow over hives where it is practical, since hives seem to winter better
that way than out in the weather, and snow, if it will stay put, is cheap
wrapping.  The snow cover moderates the temperature swings and eliminates
winds.

As for humidity, in some regions, humidity can get too low in winter,
particularly during cold spells, and cause hardship for the bees.  Bees
actually maintain fairly high moisture in their clusters when they can, but
if that humidity goes above a certain level, or when physical water drips in
a hive onto a cluster, they are seriously stressed.

Successful wintering is largely a matter of protecting bees from extremes,
and a covering of snow would seem to me to moderate extremes in humidity,
one way or the other.  Moreover, the light intensity is reduced and as a
result, fewer beees are inspired to fly out and die in the cold.

We used to be worried that hives under hard drifts would suffocate, but have
never seen a loss due to hives being covered, even when the snow drifts were
hard enough to walk on and even -- sometimes, jump on -- without breaking
through.

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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