I am sure that at some time I have written an article on storage of equipment but since I can't remember when it was I thought that I would write another one (it is that time of year again). Hopefully there are members of the organization that are storing their equipment for the winter that have bees still in them so I will make mention of some pertinent items if interest to them before I get too carried away. Even though a hive that is over wintering is full of bees it really has very little defense mechanisms in place. Summer hives have guards posted at the entrance to keep any unwanted visitors away. This is not true when it comes to cold weather. Cool weather to us Alaskans is bitter cold in bee degrees. Remember that a bee can't move unless its own body temperature is above 45 degrees. That is about the temperature that it got up to this afternoon. I saw yellow jackets around the hives but no bees. Yellow jackets are built for these temperatures and can keep messing with the wintering hive. Entrance reducers should be on the hive to keep things warmer inside as well as keep the entrance small enough to restrict the easy access of the yellow jackets. Bees can still get out and about in these times but they don't need very much of an opening to do so. Mice also enter hives that have bees in them and will chew out the pollen that has been stored in the lower section of the combs. I pulled off the lids of a couple of hives a couple of days ago and the bees were in a compact cluster. Those that were on the outside of the cluster buzzed their wings and raised their stingers in the air but were not inclined to fly. I took the frames apart and noted that the bees in the center of the cluster were warm enough to make the quick launch and they were quite lively. The point that I am making is that as the weather turns cooler destructive pests can get quite close to the cluster without penalty and do some serious damage. If you have not reduced the size of the entrance yet now is not too late, just make sure that you don't trap the mouse inside the hive.
For those beekeepers that have hives that are empty of bees and are putting them away for the season here is some advice as well. Drawn comb is the most important item that a beekeeper can possess so whatever you can do to keep it from being chewed on is not wasted effort. Simply stacking up the boxes on the bottom board and screening off the entrance with quarter inch mesh (or eighth inch mesh) allows ventilation and will work pretty well. A metal queen excluder works well as a mouse screen and that can be placed on the top allowing a flow of air throughout the hive. If it is possible to put the hive away after the bees have licked the supers clean there will be less moisture and a lower chance that you will have mould develop. Remember that honey is hydroscopic which means that it will draw moisture to it and moisture is what is needed to get any layer of fungus to grow. Any drops of honey seem to grow in size during the damp times of late fall and early winter. Good dry airflow helps keep this from happening.
Cold does not seem to have much effect on comb except to make it brittle. When the frames are warmed enough this effect is lost and it is safe to store hives outside in sub zero temperatures without problems. Just don't move them around during the cold part of winter and they should be fine. Each year there seem to be a number of beekeepers that report that the wind blew their hives over. If it happens in the cold part of winter expect that there will be some damage done particularly to the new wax areas. Plastic foundation holds up better than pure wax but when the whole super takes a dive to the ground the wax may separate from the foundation causing the bees to have to start over in whole areas.
Winter is traditionally the time when repairs are made to the hive components so be sure to set things out that need some extra attention.