I think cold kills bees but clusters can take significant cold.  A few days ago, the temperature was in the 50's F and bees were flying.  By the late afternoon, the temperatures dropped into the 40's and there were a lot of hypothermic bees on the concrete patio.

I decided to try an experiment: I collected some 60 of those motionless, hypothermic bees into a plastic can, put a screen lid on, and brought them into the warmth of the house.  Within minutes, 80% of the bees were re-activated (some more active than others).  I fed them honey with a toothpick; they fed eagerly.  By next morning, only 20% of the bees were still alive.  These were strong enough to fly back to their hives.

Perhaps this has been evaluated and there's a scientific explanation.  For sure, some of the dead bees were on their last wings and about to die when they took that one last flight.  But I also think that cold could have killed or weakened some of them enough to kill.  By analogy, the bees in the outer shell of a cluster - especially on the bottom of a cluster - surrounded by very cold can be weakened and killed.  If strong enough, the cluster will survive and thrive but I think extreme cold kills individual bees.  I think how were control the hive dynamics by providing insulation here and ventilation elsewhere moderates the bees' atmosphere but, to a large extent, it's a balancing act based on the local conditions and the state of the colony.

I'd like any insights into this phenomenon.

Waldemar
Long Island, NY

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>>I know that cold doesn't kill bees but I think Glen Stanley's method
of overwintering solves the problem of moisture condensing under the inner cover since the styrofoam insulation enables the heat from the winter cluster to keep this area warm enough so that the moist air flows across the inner cover and then down the sides of the hive as it cools off. Right after I had put the middle entrance in last fall I could feel the warm air coming out of that hole.

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