Well the bees are doing their darnedest to collect enough nectar and pollen while it still stays at least 55 degrees. At this point they need to have at least one super of honey that sits over the brood box to make it successfully through the winter. If they don't you need to feed them 2/1 sugar syrup.
I've filled up their top hive feeder with pieces of lavender stalks and thyme so that they don't drown when I pour the sugar syrup in. When it gets colder then 45 degrees they huddle in the hive in a cluster around their stores with the queen in the center. The queen will stop laying for a time to conserve resources and the female worker bees that are in the hive now will live a bit longer then the usual 6 weeks. The cluster of bees is constantly moving from the colder outer edge to the warm center. The bees who have warmed themselves from the center will come out to the edge and push the cold bees to the warm center. Such considerate, cooperative bees! ;)
One of my hives seems to have a varroa mite issue. Varroa mites attach themselves to the brood and to adult bees and literally suck the life out of them. This is no good so I do the least invasive method around: Today when it reaches about 65 degrees I will open one of my hives and dust each super with 1 cup of powdered sugar. The powdered sugar causes the bees to groom themselves and will most likely knock the offending mite off their body down through their screened bottom board and onto the ground.
More tea and then off to the hives.......
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