Our bees stay here. I simply make sure that each hive has at least 90 pounds of honey, then tip the back of the box up for moisture runoff and place a black cardboard wrap around it to keep wind out and to warm the hive on sunny winter days. I've never lost more than four hives in a winter. In autumn, when the days become cold, bees form a basketball-sized cluster inside the hive. The queen is at the center of this cluster, and the bee colony keeps her cozy warm all winter, even in below-zero temperatures.
Bees make no attempt to heat the entire hive.
Instead, just the cluster itself is warm, generating heat from honey much as our bodies produce heat from food. One concern I have for bees during the winter is heavy snowfall. Should hive entrances be covered, bees can suffocate. After every blizzard, I put on my snowshoes and walk two miles over prairie hills with a shovel. The trip itself can be an experience.