November bring cold weather. This means a kind of hibernation period for the bees. They are staying alive by keeping themselves warm in a ball in the centre of their hive. Feeding from their storage. It is better to not disturb them at this point by opening the hive as this lets in cold air and affects the hard work the bees are doing to keep the inside of their hive warm. I simply lift the top off the hive without opening fully, and take a quick look to make sure there are still plenty of frames in the centre full of bees and then close the hive again. This does not need to be done often in winter at all. In fact the less you bother them the better. Here is a photo of my bees huddled in the centre of their hive for the winter.