In the Hive

Things in the hive are going very well. I'm so pleased that these bees have adjusted as well as they have. Because we got them in July and not early in the year, we were concerned about their ability to put aside enough food for the winter but by faithfully feeding them they seem to be succeeding in their efforts to survive the winter.
They are slowing down with brood production and many of the drones have already been kicked out of the hive. The few drone cells that were still present in the hive, I uncapped to help with the verroa mites. The mites are a bit of a problem in our hive. Even with the mite treatments, their numbers are not as low as we would like. I hope that by removing drone cells that I can help the mite problem.
Since my last hive inspection the amount of brood frames has decreased, which is to be expected as summer comes to an end, and the amount of honey frames has increased. They seem to have even been able to find some pollen in this late season. I was excited to see some bees crawling around with pollen on their legs.
I also did some "housecleaning" while I was in there. I cleaned the excess comb from the sides and bottom of the frames, cleaned some of the propolis from the frames to make them easier to remove and added the entrance reducer to keep the wasps out.
All-in-all it was a very pleasant inspection. The bees are healthy and I am happy. I may only do one more inspection before I close them up for the winter. Let's hope they stay healthy and well through the winter.