i live in the upper midwest and winter 300 colonies, some 2 deeps and some singles. the 2 deep colonies get pushed together into a 4 pack on a pallet. each colony gets a built rite fiber insulation board over the inner cover then a sheet of black poly or tarpaper over the top and sides leaving the 2 front sides of the 4 pack exposed. the other important feature is having two openings to vent condensation top and bottom. for stacked singles we remove the inner cover from the bottom deep and install a screened spacer board between the two and then wrap as described above. i don't worry much about insualtion as i have 6 frames of bees minimum in each and combine any weak ones. single deeps that are not stacked i do place on foam insulation boards and wrap in 4 packs. the other big factor is location, location, location. higher ground with good air ventilation facing south with a wind break from the NW is what i look for in a winter yard. ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************