> We have had however lost hives over past winters and since we are
> only a small apiary, it is devastating to loose hives.

You will always lose some hives over winter in northern Canada unless you are
very lucky.  About 10% loss is the lowest that one can expect, averaged over
years.  20% is more realistic.

> He then said amongst other things, if the bees don't have the added
> advantage of that touch of warmth that the light bulb provided and the
> added insulation around the hives, they would just huddle up (cluster) and
> they would not move to the left or right or even up top to get at the food.
> They starve to death and they also freeze to death.

Szabo's work shows graphically that healthy bees move to new stores even in very
cold weather.  The major problems in this regard ocur when brood rearing starts
and the ability to move is limited or when the feed is granulated hard.  FWIW,
bees that are less than healthy tend to have problems that are often blamed on
the cold.

Supplementary heat to assist the bees can be a benefit if used *carefully* and
in moderation when the temperatures are very cold, but can be deadly if used in
weather around and above freezing.  You *really* should do some research.

> For us a normal hive is the bottom
> (brood with a bit of storage) box with 10 frames, then the 2nd (storage
> with a bit of brood) box with 10 frames.
> Then during the summer usually a 3rd box (storage) is added on to the top.

To us that is a weak hive.  Normally our honey producing hives consist of *a
minimum* of 5 supers in early July, and the bees should fill them all
completely.

> I seem to understand from some comments however, that people call a strong
> hive when they are only in the bottom box over most of the 10 frames and
> also cover about 4 or 6 frames of the second box.

Hive strength is judged by time of year and the purpose for which it is
intended.  A strong hive for spring pollination work will not compare well to a
strong hive for summer honey production.

> A hive that covers only one box and approx. another half box
> may be too small to survive our winters, so my husband told me this evening.

You might find it worthwhile to read the logs about this.  The number of bees is
less of a factor than the number of well fed young bees.  The former is much
easier to see and assess.  Larger hives may consume more stores and be overly
active.  Much depends on the strain of bee as to determining what is a
satisfactory cluster for winter.

allen

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