It was 50 degrees today. One question.

[DaveKow]

So, I lifted the top cover of one of my hives and the bees were at the oval hole in the inner cover.  Does this necessarily mean that they are getting short on stores? 

Okay, 2 questions.  If you just put sugar on the top of the inner cover and you get a couple decent weather days, will they come up and store the sugar.

Thanks and Merry Christmas.

[Brian D. Bray]

So, I lifted the top cover of one of my hives and the bees were at the oval hole in the inner cover.  Does this necessarily mean that they are getting short on stores? 

Not necessarially, bees like to congregate at the top of the hive, even in cluster, so finding bees where you did is normal regardless of the time of year.

Okay, 2 questions.  If you just put sugar on the top of the inner cover and you get a couple decent weather days, will they come up and store the sugar.

Thanks and Merry Christmas.

The bees will take sugar from the upper side of the inner cover but will take it much more readily if put on paper on the tops of the frames.  Any time the weather warms enough to allow the cluster to loosen you'll have bees going to the far reaches of the hive to gather stores back into the cluster for the next cold snap, so if there is sugar in the hive the bees will get that too.

And the 2nd question was?