A weak colony and a strong in cold contry

[troutclub]

I have a weak and a strong colony in the pacific northwest I live where the average winter day is about 30-40 degrees at night and 45-55 days. there is a lot of wind where i live. what can I do for the lighter of the two boxes? so they survive and flurish in spring?

[Andrey]

Have some wind protection but other then that I don't think you can do much at this time.

[Lu Klimaszewski]

I had a problem similar to yours a couple of months back. See my post (re:Hiving "wild" bees in November). There were some good suggestions came back from that one, particularly the one regarding filling a pocket with honey/fondant from Clayton. I did this, as well as insulating the top cover.

Yesterday the bees were flying at mid-day, so I risked a little peek. I didn't look what the temperature was. They still have about half a pocket of set honey, and some sealed stores, so It looks as though they'll make it to spring, thank goodness.

Maybe you could give your bees a pocket or two, such as Clayton described if the bees are flying on a warm day. Be quick if you do, and cover the frames that you're not disturbing with a cloth while you do, to minimise heat loss.

Good luck,