The season is coming to a close - the honey is off, flowers have stopped blossoming and preparation for over-wintering the bees begins. I have noticed a large number of drones sitting outside the hive on the landing pad, and an uncomfortable number of wasps hanging around eating them. The drones get kicked out of the hive to die at this time of year - they have served their purpose and become unnecessary.
I treated the hives for varroa mites and nosema, and am feeding pollen patties and sugar syrup again. I left a fair amount of honey in the hives for the bees to eat over the winter. I could have taken it off, but I would rather they eat honey than syrup.
I found that the Belle hive had a HUGE number of dead mites drop onto the bottom board after the varroa treatment. However, I couldn't find any on the Sophia hive - good news. I'll keep an eye on them though, as they had a rough summer.
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