> Bees can stand cold temperatures down to -80F, but they can’t any water
> dripping on them at any temperature.
>

Thats a fairly strong statement for a fairly surprising and resilient
animal:

What about broodless bees like swarms or big balls of bees blown in the
fall (maybe with a queen that was accidentally blown)?  They can stand lots
of water for as long as they have food stored inside themselves.

What about bees that nest in the open, both big like apis dorsata or small
like apis florea and that protect their brood and stores with only their
bodies, using their wings like shingles to shed water?

What about the hive that I once found in the spring in the low mountains
above Tatamagouche Nova Scotia that had it's cover off all winter?  It was
a tall hive of 4 boxes and it had been abandoned with it's honey still on.
It was not my hive and I do not know it's history.  But the cover was
nowhere to be seen and although the outside frames were long blackened by
the weather the hive had survived a long time (but very strong hive and
lots of stores).  I have also had plenty of hives where melting "glaciers"
of heavy ice have toppled off the feeders and covers in the spring.   It is
surprising that in heavy snowfalls afterwards a chimney forms in the snow
over the frames and when the feeder and cover are replaced the bees usually
survive, but are set back.

Stan

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