The third hive opening was on Nov. 15, 2009. The only thing we did to the Langstroth hive was to put some burlap in the top ventilation area. It seemed to me that the bees were concerned with the opening in the top cover board as they were trying to close it with propolis. Hopefully insulating it with the burlap bags will darken the hole and allow for additional warmth. That may keep them happy. I blocked their screened bottom with the insert.
The Warre hive only has the top hive box full of comb so I'm somewhat concerned with them wintering through. I changed the bottom board from screened to solid and removed one of the hive boxes since there was really no need to have two empty hive boxes.
I haven't treated either hive for Varroa just to see what the outcome is in the spring. The last count in the Langstroth was about 25 in a 24hr period. Some websites say that amount is not a problem others say to treat anyway. We'll let the bees decide this winter. If the counts increase in spring I'll treat with powdered sugar.
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