First, a little context:
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I live in Rwanda, which has pretty good flow year round. There’s no winter or even really cool period, although there is a drier period between the middle of June and late September and another from January to March. The regular, daily rain ends in mid June, but there are blooming flowers and plants all year round because there is still intermittent rain and storms like many other places in the world. But for the bees, there are blooming flowers and plants all year round. In short, and maybe this is most important, there’s no overwintering here needed. Officially, the climate is, as an agronomist told me, Rwanda’s climate is subtropical humid.
Here’s more info on Rwanda’s climate if you’re curious: http://www.meteorwanda.gov.rw/index.php?id=30 (On that map, Kigali, where I live, is in the center, in the light green area).
So, that brings me to my issue:
Nearly two months ago, my bees were installed by a traditional beekeeper as I already shared with this forum community in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quv3YpCpQD8 I got lots of messages saying people liked the video! The traditional beekeeper in the video (the one with the mosquito net on his face) is unfortunately not available to answer my question.
I’ve inspected the hive twice, and I’ve seen plenty of brood, larvae, and even some honey. We’re lucky in Rwanda to not have Varroa or AFB issues so far, so that’s not a problem. Every frame is very much covered in bees. After years of waiting to get into beekeeping, it is very exciting!
For the box in the video, the girls have to about 80% full—which I have read everywhere that that’s when you add another box. I’ve read multiple articles and posts on this topic (including this one: When to add a second brood box with a flow hive? Missouri, USA ) and I don’t know what to do exactly.
Do I
a) another brood box (which I don’t have, which is a problem)
b) add my honey (Flow) super
c) nothing
d) something else… but what?
Most beekeepers in Rwanda use the Kenyan Top Bar Hives and and I cannot reach the traditional beekeeper (the guy featured in the video) so I currently don’t know if anyone uses two brood boxes here.
Of course, I’d love to add my Flow honey super, but I more so want to do the right thing.
Your suggestions on how I can solve this problem and/or your options A, B, C, or D are most appreciated.
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