observation hives through the year

[LivelyHive]

Hello,
There are several helpful posts about observation hives, talking about where to get them and how to connect them to the outside through a tube.

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My plan is a four medium Langstroth frame OH from ebay [item 260567815084]. I plan to put it in a kitchen corner at my townhouse in Northern Virginia.

The posts mention that OH's have dodgy survival and production, since they only hold 3-4 frames. How do you overwinter an OH? If the brood is indoors, it seems that the huge difference between indoor and outdoors would confuse the bees once winter hits.

[buzzbee]

day length has a big part of what bees do. Even with lights on in the house they will cluster up over winter. it may not be as tight as a hive outdoors,but activity diminishes a lot over winter.
Any bees venturing near the exit will feel the cold and return.