Hello from Round Mountain Texas! Had my nuc in my Flow Hive for a month now. On Friday, my inspection revealed only one empty frame (comb guide fallen) and the least active frame had two baseball diameter drawn comb sections on it. I have found new bread, nectar, eggs, various sized larva, capped brood, a few sections of drone cells, capped honey and emerging baby bees.
We decided to put the honey super on as soon as the inspection was done. Checked it today and each window has some bee activity. Looked like they were working on cell waxing the gaps.
Followed the advice here about rubbing wax on the Flowframes prior to installing. I refine and save any wax I get and made a little candle in a silicon mold I bought. Lasted quite some time.
I was able to source some free cinder blocks and a fiberglass grate so I will be making a new stand on Monday. I told my wife today it has room for a second or maybe third hive. She looked excited!
Still looks pretty green there but it’s going to be pretty hot and dry in no time. Typically it is recommended, most frequently by @Dawn_SD , that your brood box(es) be fully drawn and 80% full before adding an additional brood box or super.
I don’t really know what central Texas has to offer the bees in summer but I bet it is similar to much of the southwest. You might check with some locals about whether most are doing single or double brood boxes to get through the summer dearth. But if they don’t have much forage you might find yourself wishing you’d added another brood box and/or feeding them during this time of the year instead of adding the super.
Thank you all. As a new person here, the bees won’t store pollen upstairs only honey? And a medium or deep above will allow them to store pollen, nectar, and make more brood during the dearth?
I don’t plan on taking honey until fall flow if it happens. Leaving the bees be this first year. Was going off of Cedar stating he does not add a second box he just puts the super on.
Bees get nectar out of flowers, however by the time the bee returns to the hive, it is no longer nectar, it is very unripe honey. The process of converting nectar into honey begins as soon as the bee starts returning home. Then the process continues inside the hive. The bees store pollen and honey around the brood, not just pollen.
Cedar is on another Continent. Completely different ballgame.You should add a second brood box on top of the first, not the super. When that second brood box becomes filled out THEN add the super.
I’m in the Northeastern USA and I use single brood chambers. They’re MUCH easier to manage, much easier for the bees to defend from SHB, and will yield a bigger honey crop. Some will say the queen won’t have room to lay, and that has been proven false. Here’s a good vid from a beekeeper in Canada: Why Managing Bee Hives as Single Brood Chambers Works - YouTube
