Sorry, can't find the thread, but Kirk stated that colonies that had had the seal of the lid cracked did not winter well in his cold climate. On the other hand, many suggest that top ventilation, via some sort of opening is critical. I have little experience in wintering in that kind of cold, except in those years when I didn't get my bees out of my high Nevada yards by fall. Kirk, could you explain the difference between having cracks under the lid propolis seal, and providing top ventilation. Is it a wind issue, or what? Thanks, Randy Oliver *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html