>>I noticed that there were dead bees in the snow in front of the
hive. Quite a few in fact. When I cleaned off the snow that had built up on
the landing board, there was a considerable amount of dead bees buried just
under the snow there too.

A healthy honeybee colony enters winter full of summer and fall bees.  It
is the fall bee that winters the hive.  The summer bees usually dont last a
month into winter.  They fly out of the hive on days that they can escape
the hive.  If they cant fly due to a cold snap, they will drop to the
bottom board.  Old bees rairly die in the hive through out the year, no
different during the winter if they can get the chance.

Ian

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::