In this video you’ll see how I help my USDA Russian bees overwinter in Maine.

In neighboring Vermont, Kirk Webster, a long-time commercial treatment-free beekeeper also keeps Russian bees for the last 20 years. Kirk Webster says that the Russian Bees are still “the best primary source of breeding stock for non-treatment beekeeping”.
 
So, about overwintering my Russian bees in Maine…
These breathable, zippable natural burlap pillows are filled with real sheep wool. I place these pillows on top
of the bee nest for insulation and moisture control.
In between the nest and the sheep wool pillows I also add a strip of a 100% wool army blanket for additional insulation making sure that it does not reach all the way to the bottom to allow ventilation.
This bigger wool-filled pillow is made of natural canvas. It’s also breathable.
This peaked roof horizontal hive has some of the summertime indirect top vents blocked with duct tape. In my view, there’s a delicate balancing act between ventilation and insulation and it depends not only on the weather but also on the race of the bees. These Russian bees will winter well.

To see some dead bees of the snow is not, actually, a bad thing. Paradoxically, having dead bees in front of the hive just means that the colony is alive and doing well as the caretaker bees keep dutifully removing their dead out of the beehive.

The circular entrance disk is set for a wintertime mouse-guard setting and when I open it there’s just 1 unremoved dead bee there – so that the entrance is pretty clear.
Unfortunately, the mouse-guard setting for these circular entrance disks is not always very well suited for cold Maine winters.  
Here’s another colony where the same mouse-guard setting kept the entrance completely clogged – when it’s very cold, it can be difficult for the caretaker bees to remove their dead if the bottom of the mouse-guard opening is not properly aligned with the bottom of the real entrance opening.  
As I want to avoid manually clearing the entrances with the mouse-guard on, this is my red-neck modification of a mouse-guard setting for a circular disk entrance.
There’s 2 copper tape on 2 sides and in-between them there’s a copper wire mesh. As mice hate copper, this will serve as a mouse-guard during the winter. And its bottom is properly aligned with the bottom entrance so it’s much easier for the caretaker bees without flying in bitter cold to remove their dead and to keep the entrance clear.