Nighttime bee care

I went to the Santa Cruz Beekeepers Guild meeting tonight after marimba. The meeting was supposed to be about fall maintenance, and it was, in part. One of the off-agenda topics was robbing. I had noted some robbers hanging around my hive and had even tried to get a video of them to post. The robbers hang around in front of the hive, crawl over cracks between boxes and even go under the edge of the telescoping top. They also try to get in the door, and I was enjoying watching the guard bees chase them off. Other indications of robbing, besides seeing the robbers, include generally more aggressive bees and that heavy honey-laden robbers leaving the hive that fall a bit before going up on take-off. In my case, I also know that any Italian is a thief. But tonight I found out that honey robbing isn't all that innocent. Apparently, this has been a bad year for honey production. I only have one frame full of honey, and that isn't nearly enough. At least 30 pounds of honey is what is recommended to get the bees through winter and early spring until the honey flow. 30 pounds is 9 medium or 6deep frames full. Ian advised me to place the entrance reducer tonight (to help keep out robbers) and to start feeding them, also. At the meeting they also demonstrated a circular feeder and a Vivaldi board. Since I will need to feed the bees for the next couple of months, and the outside feeder I have been using attracts robbers, I decided I should get the circular feeder. So, when I got home, I went out and put in the entrance reducer. I also put the Boardman feeder on top of the inner cover, put a deep super on top and the telescoping lid over all. When the Vivaldi top and feeder arrive, they will be installed instead.
Varroa mite treatment was also discussed. Various treatments were discussed. It was pointed out that the mites quickly develop resistance, so it might be best to use more natural controls, like the drone brood frame, formic acid and powdered sugar.
There were other problems and techniques bandied about. Beekeeping is for more involved than I had imagined it would be.