The hive will be clear plexi on both sides. Can we still put it outdoors, or must we bring it indoors?
I would keep it indoors. To keep it outdoors you will need some kind of doors to protect it from the sun and you will need to put it in the shade.
Is one better than the other?
Indoors is where I have mine and where I want mine…
Do we need hinged wood doors on either side, for privacy and/or insulation?
If you put it outside. Inside, I would just buy some cotton broadcloth and double it and then double it over the hive to make a curtain.
We will be filling this hive not with empty frames, but with 5-7 queenless frames full of honey and brood etc. Any special considerations?
If you don’t give them a queen, you may need to boost them again in a couple of weeks with some more brood. Observation hives tend to boom or bust and being queenless for a month is quite a blow to a colony.
We will happily continue to feed the hive throughout the year.
Be careful. Too much feed will get the brood nest filled with syrup…