Patrick wrote: ↑23 Feb 2020, 14:48
Sticking my neck out here but in my neck of the woods I think isolation starvation is a more theoretical than actual risk. In other words, if they starve it’s because they just run out rather than can’t find it.
It does happen. I lost some several years ago in wooden hives, We had a mild Feb and frames were stuffed with larvae and sealed brood and loads of stores, but the cold March that followed that year they wouldn't move the few inches from the brood to the food.
Nowadays in poly hives it is much less of an issue....In fact the opposite I usually end up removing unused stores in spring to give queen room to lay.
That is not to say I don't get an occasional dead colony, or one where lots of bees die...It happens. I often wonder if coming back Mid Sept from the moors takes it's toll and the winter bees never get get laid in these hives or not in sufficient numbers....
Most puzzling was a hive that was filled with bees in Dec, but by late Feb not a bee was to be found...lots of stores, no brood .no dead bees, nothing under entrance a real Marie Celeste of a hive.