Did you have the newspaper covering the whole top of the box when you put the sugar on? If so did the bees or you make a small hole along side the sugar pile so the could get to the sugar? If that is the case the bees got lost after going through the small hole and got cold. They then clustered together for survival(to stay warm) and couldn't make it back to the main cluster. They will not likely survive very long away from the main cluster.