Perhaps you could have a little more drawn frames, in a package it's
best to feed with frame feeder right in the box, remember it's a small
size cluster when you start and in about 10 day's cluster gets smaller
because old bees die. When you have your first new bees you'll see
a big change and things start to improve. When you have a honey flow,
you might see that they don't take syrup readily. You should have about
8 frames drawn before giving more space. In a cold spill or rain it helps
to put some insulation on a couple of sides, also on top of hive cover.
I usually use a empty box on top with a pillow inside.
A package is small and bees don't do well in a big box....allot of heat loss.

I'm reassured you are still reading and posting here, Konrad. At first glance it looks like most of the posts are about bees where people don't want them!

I never thought about putting a pillow on top of the inner cover! It was so cold and rainy in Georgia that delivery to MA was held up until last weekend. During the same three week period it was very chilly and wet here. I'm glad the bees were someone else's responsibility during those three weeks of crappy weather.!

At what point does the bee keeper in colder climates stop worrying about "small bees in big box?" When temps are consistently.....? When the new bees have hatched?

Thanks. And hope you see my question above!
Marie (going on 4 years as a bumbling beekeeper)