Winter prep

I did my best to reduce the entrance to this hive. The entrance reducer wouldn't fit back in, but just placing it there made it easier for the bees to defend the entrance. I saw yellow jackets trying to get in and not being successful. I did not see any fighting between bees, so hopefully the reducers are enough to keep them from getting robbed. I also put a reducer on the vertical hive. The other long hive has had one on all summer. I took the top super off the vertical hive because it was empty. I flipped the inner covers on this hive so I can put a blanket inside the roof and still have ventilation for the winter. It was warm today, too warm to do that. I will flip the inner cover on the vertical hive on Saturday during the field day. We will also put on mouse guards and insulation. I checked both long hives for mice, and there are none there at present. The weather has not gotten cold yet, so they haven't tried to get in. Saturday will be cooler, so it will be a better day for insulating.