Getting ready for winter (part 1)

I've been feeding the bees 3.6 kg of homemade sirup (3:2 mix) the past three weeks. Looks like they are handling the amount that I have given them pretty well. I have noticed that they have finished killing off the drones and are fully concentrated on storing the food. I am still a little bit nervous about the whole process as this is my first time doing winter prep.

I have noticed that in one of the colonies (Leia) that there are still two frames of wax foundation that have not been drawn out. Now, I am not sure what that means, and what kind of problems that will make for my bees. I will have to ask my mentor or other beek colleagues to see how I should proceed.

The other two colonies have drawn out comb on all the frames, so I think I will be good to go with them. I have also noticed that the queens are STILL laying eggs. It is amazing, that although the temps are dropping, the queens are still trying to increase the population of the colonies. Somewhere, I did read that young queens will lay a little bit too long, but after a couple of years will know when to shut down for the winter.

On Saturday I plan to give them the last amount of food. I will still weigh each hive to make sure they have enough, but for now, I think I have given them enough. Once I have pulled the plug on feeding them, I too will probably shut things down for the winter. More than likely, I will buy some more supplies and take a few courses, so I guess I will not shut down completely!

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