Hello all, I have a couple questions. I live in Nebraska and this past summer was the second year with my hive. The bees were well established and doing great so I added the super on in June. All summer I saw much activity in the super, though never seeing any honey. Come fall I checked each frame and though the bees completed each hexagon cell, they never placed a drop of honey in any cell. I’m thinking of adding a second brood box next year then trying the super again the following year. Would this be the route to take, or does anyone have any ideas as to why I didnt get any honey? The hive has seemed super healthy so I’m at a loss for what has happened.
Second part, my bees are getting more aggressive. The first year I could do most all hive checks and maintenance without any issue. This past year, the hives second year, I can’t open the hive at all without at least a few bees coming at me hard. I make frequent trips to the hive to at least talk to the bees and try to keep them friendly, but they seem to just keep getting more aggressive when I get into the hive. Any ideas on why or what I can do to calm the population? I’m not against suiting up for each check, but would like to not have to.
Why you didn’t get any honey could be a couple of factors.
#1 There may have been a lack of nectar producing flowers for your bees to cash in on (a honey dearth).
#2 Your colony might not have been strong enough in numbers to be able to cash in if there was a decent honey flow.
Smoke will calm a population. I always suit up to attend my bees. Think of bees in the natural world. They have natural predators such as bears, honey badgers and humans, are 3 that comes to mind. Bees are naturally protecting their hive the only way they know how.
If you think that your bees are overly protective, you could try re-queening with quieter genes.
It’s always good to know other beekeepers in your area so that you can get a comparison. Alternatively a second hive to get a comparison from.
Overwintered colonies are typically ready to swarm very early in the season. I’ve learned to do my first ‘semi’ inspection to check for signs of swarm prep here in PA in mid March. Could be that your colony issued a swarm in early spring and was in process of building back up while the nectar flow was on in your area, leading to @JeffH ‘s #2 reason.
This is a feat all by itself. A colony needs to have a strong population and loads of nectar to make enough wax to complete the work required to prepare a whole box of new Flow frames for honey storage. That can take all there is available in a short temperate region season. Sometimes, you might see a bit in the very center within that first season it’s on, but that’s up to the factors Jeff mentioned. It helps to remember that the Flow was developed in a subtropical region, where the nectar flow is nearly perpetual. Not so with our cold winters (and dry summers)! So I would count your result as a big win - your F super is now waxed up and ready to go for honey storage in spring!
This points to likely swarming early on, that you might have missed. It can happen fast and will seem sudden is you don’t know what to look for. I certainly didn’t in my second year! This takes us to Jeff’s point about requeening. Perhaps the new queen mated with some drones from more defensive stock, which is not a bad thing unless you go suitless
I do want to advise you though, that your frequent trips to talk to the bees are not likely to work as you intend. Bees aren’t like other farm animals or pets, they don’t have any reason to become friendly with any creature, and they have a lot to protect. Unfortunately, your visits may be adding to their sense that they need to be on guard. Keep your visits confined to watching from the side a few feet away, and to purposeful, careful inspections that are sensibly timed with seasonal and health needs. And - suit up and use your smoker
Here’s to your colony surviving the winter, and thriving in 2026!
This takes us to Jeff’s point about requeening. Perhaps the new queen mated with some drones from more defensive stock, which is not a bad thing unless you go suitless 
