I've heard this 'argument' in support of people who still can't see the logic or wisdom of insulation so many times in the last few years .... the reality is that bees WILL (mostly) survive in cold draughty hives ... they will survive better in hives that have insulation on top of the colony ... it rather stands to reason that they will survive even better if you provide them with an environment where they have to expend the least amount of energy necessary to maintain the colony temperature that they would prefer.
It's not a difficult concept ? Would you prefer to sleep on a bed with no bedding in the middle of winter or snuggle up under a high Tog value duvet ?
I've heard the comment ... No ... but I'm not a bee .... that really doesn't wash with me.
Some years ago I was asked to 'give a hand' to a friend of mine's brother over in Ireland who had just started lambing 300 ewes, and was already in deep poo (quite literally).
When I arrived it was immediately clear what the problem was: he had nailed boards over the shed's vents to 'keep 'em warm'. So - 300 ewes in one shed, now nice and humid, and the bacteria had a field day. Half the flock were scouring badly, lambs were going down like nine-pins, and it looked like he was about to lose his whole crop of lambs.
The solution was obvious - to open-up the vents, and get as many ewes back out into the fields as possible which enabled us to then have a complete change of straw after flushing the floors down with Jeys Fluid. Only then did we bring the ewes back in.
Yes - it was bl##dy cold working with open vents and the doors wide open, but we managed to save the day.
Now - ok - those are mammals, as we are mammals, and you can argue that the situation with insects is different - that may possibly be true. But
your argument that because a small amount of something is beneficial, therefore it logically follows that a large amount of it must be even better, is flawed.
A small amount of some deadly poisons (nicotine, strychnine etc) are actually stimulants, but a larger amount is frequently fatal.
The whole rationale behind LD50 calculations is to keep intake of medicines or other substances at a low, relatively safe level. 1 gram per box when sublimating OA is ideal for killing mites without harming the bees, but I have no doubt that 50 or 100 grams wouldn't do them any good whatsoever.
Treating biological organisms (including ourselves) with kindness and consideration is flawed - one only need look at how human genetics have been affected in the West. In rural India it is not unusual for a woman to stop work in the fields, give birth unaided, and then re-commence work later that day. Some die, sure, but it is nature's way of eliminating unsuitable genetics.
In the West we have adopted a policy of medically assisted childbirth for hundreds of years. In their well-meant enthusiasm to reduce the number of deaths, the medical profession has created a situation in which totally natural births (as in 100% medically unassisted) are nigh impossible, and so our species - at least in the West - has become dependant upon their presence at birth.
By not allowing weaker colonies to die during winter, you are unwittingly failing to select-out inferior genetics. Oh - you may not see the results of this for perhaps a hundred years - but a reliance upon copious amounts of artificial insulation will happen eventually, in a similar way to how childbirth has become reliant upon medical assistance.
There is a difference between 'cleverness' and 'wisdom': cleverness is about achieving short-term goals, at which many human activities excel; but wisdom is about having consideration for the long term effects of our actions, even if these should appear counter-productive in the short-term.
LJ