I received the booklets and haven't had a chance to read through them all yet. I did see it recommends not feeding, but if you do you can use mellifera honey. It doesn't say anything about adding molasses. It had a couple of suggestions on how to feed, but when I checked today the bowl I left was empty with a few extra honey pots on the roof, and no bee carcasses tangled in the cloth, so I think I'll stick with this until things warm up a bit. The booklets did mention about cold affecting them, and especially the hockingsi can have problems. It has been a cold winter for this area and sometimes I don't see them out of the hive till 9am or so. Feeding can encourage pests such as the phorid fly apparently. I have seen a little fly outside, about the size of a fruit fly, so it could be the one, but I didn't notice any maggots or pests inside.
Anyway, the numbers are good so me and the bees are holding out till Spring arrives.
Lone