Allen said Were there more hives on the location, and did any survive, or was there just the one? What did the colony look like when found? Was the cluster tight, or broken, do you recall? The one beside went queenless that fall (and died) That location was just over the crest of a hill, further down the hill had normal snow cover. The cluster was loose and large This hive was completly buried, not at all visable Mike said The ice formed just as heavy on beehives. It started on the cover, and flowed down off the telescoping covers, and looked like a frozen waterfall. Well if you can see the cover and had a top entrance I would not expect there to be a problem with ventilation I wish people would add <CR> at appropriate places in all email's ( with Kmail its easiest to view source, run on lines are annoying) Dave :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::