Looking for Coastal Central Florida beeks

We installed our nuc last Saturday and I am looking forward to checking their progress this weekend. I would like to connect with others in my area for questions, suggestions, etc. I am trying to decide on 1 brood box or 2 before adding the super and while i have spent hours reading posts here it seems dependent on preference. However, my preference will be mostly based on things like regular flow in my area, what beeks have experienced with our winters, wet vs dry season, etc. I did peek at the tray today and found two small dead beetles (maybe SHB) and yellowish brown dust down the center (I’m guessing cap dust?) I didn’t see any SHB’s when installing the nuc but i suppose they could have been hiding :thinking:. We also saw the queen prior to transport with a gap before netting the nuc but didn’t “find” her when doing the install. She’s probably there and we just aren’t used to identifying her. We have a frame style feeder in the brood box and will check on their consumption as well as i would kike to replace it with the last 2 frames (10 total) asap. They said we were supposed to be in a dearth now but she was hearing no changes (no signs of it) from beeks she had talked to.

Hi Cmiles and welcome!

I’m way up in PA and our clover is coming into peak right now, but dearth will hit in just a few weeks if not sooner without much rain. We typically get a second, smaller flow in late summer/early fall, but it’s never wise to count on it. If I had a recently installed nuc in my situation (plus cold winter months) I do not think the bees would fill a 10 frame deep in time for a second box to go on this season.

But, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t aspire to running double broods in my apiary if that is my goal as a beekeeper. It just means you would watch and see, and maybe get that second box filled at the next big flow. For me, that would mean wintering a single and feeding, then adding the next deep in early spring.

Once you get a few more local insights about nectar flows and downtimes for the bees in your climate, this might give you a better idea of what to expect. Let us know what you find out! :blush::+1:

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I’d just stick with 1 brood box, maybe super in September. Main flow for this area is ending now. Honey is being capped currently, maybe a week left?

Here is a useful link to bookmark

http://volusiabeekeepers.org/bee-calendar/

Happy Beekeeping!