My brood box really full of honey and although the bees are going into the Flowhive super it seems really congested and tight in the brood box.
I have not been able to harvest any honey as yet and while there is a couple of frames with honey in them in the super they seem to be more interested in cramming into the brood box,…is this normal.
I have waxed up the Flowhive super to try and encourage them to move up but to no avail as yet.
The hive is around 8 mths old
I’d be grateful for your comments
Use the little magnifying glass icon on the top right and do a search of your topic there are many things you can try
You could try moving one or two frames of brood above the QX. Place it/them in the middle side by side, flanked by the flow frames. Replace that/those frame/s with frame/s containing fresh foundation, or better still, frames with fully drawn worker comb. Checker board those, if more than one.
You’ll get to do a brood inspection at the same time.
When you say the bottom box is teeming with bees and lots of honey- just how much money are we talking? Are there entire frames on the outside of fully capped honey? or is there a lot of brood with some honey at the top and edges of the frames? If the latter the maybe the bees still don’t have extra honey to fill the super - there might not be much nectar around. When there is they’ll get to the flow frames: you say there is already some honey there- that’s a good sign.
No colony will fill any type of super until there is a flow on- and the colony is sufficiently built up in numbers to collect more that they eat. It may seem like it’s packed with bees- but maybe you haven’t quite reached the critical mass.
Rule of thumb.
Never expect to be able to rob the hive in the first year.
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Skeggley,
That’s my rule of thumb up here Stateside too. And my second year they tried … then we got a dreath n what they’d started in Flow n non-flow supers was rapidly moved back down stairs as our hot dry days continued with even the weeds not blooming ! Almost thought have to start feeding if it kept up … then a bit of cooling n moisture thus weeds popped into autumn bloom but way to late for any chance of super honey. Looking 
forward to another stab at success up here my third (return) season here SE of Seattle …
Cheers bro,
Gerald
Semaphore
The frames are so full they are almost connecting to the frame next to them, they are completely covered some are capped off and others are uncapped. We are in the middle of summer here in Western Australia and plenty of flowers/nectar around.
Guess we have to just wait for them to move on to filling the supers. Thanks for your advice
JeffH
I will give your idea ago and keep you posted. Thanks for your advice
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Hiya Gerald. I tip my hat to you guys that battle through every season, get knocked down and get back up again. Reading about yours and others adventures makes me appreciate our good fortune over here.
Third year for me too here, 5 colonys and have only been able to rob from two of them so far. One of the two has had the Fframes drained 3 times and as our main flow, Marri, is about to start I’d expect to harvest again in a month or so. Honey bees definitely aren’t in trouble here with feral colonys all over the place.
My neibourhood.
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You are welcome Grant, you can do that while there is plenty of honey & pollen coming in, coupled with a healthy colony.
Note: you’ll have to remove one or two flow frames to do this. Just move the other flow frames up close to the frame/s of brood & leave a gap on either side until such times as you remove the conventional frames (full of honey) & replace them with the flow frames.