So it’s three more weeks (six total) with bees in the super…lots of bees. But I checked yesterday and there is no honey. That’s two years w/o honey. I am getting disillusioned with my beekeeping. It is too late now as we are getting into fall. Any ideas why there may be lots of action–for weeks–in the flow super but no honey? What the heck are they doing up there???
It’s probably fairly unusual to get a colony strong enough starting from a package to get much, if any, honey from them the first season.
You may have the bees but they are focusing on winter prep and this point and there probably isn’t enough nectar to store away excess in the super.
Are they backfilling the brood box(es) with nectar?
I’d say focus on getting them through the winter and see if the spring brings anything different.
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Don’t fret Tom, filling two brood boxes and waxing up all the cells in all the Flow frames is a LOT of work, and a colony needs to be strong, healthy and have good nectar flow to do it. In cold climates the season is shorter, less rain = less nectar (even if there are flowers). If you were running a single brood and traditional shallow supers, you would probably have a harvest this year, barring major disruptions coming from the seasonal climate or ill health.
You’re choosing a method that will help ensure overwintering success for your bees, and preparing the Flow frames for a very likely harvest next season - like I had, for the first time in my third year!
Edit: I just read your previous post about putting the super on 3 weeks before 8/10, so sometime in mid-late July. As @chau06 pointed out, that’s usually a dearth period when even very strong colonies cannot store extra honey or make new wax. It’s good that some bees were exploring the Fsuper at least, leaving some bee-scent for next season. But we aren’t in Australia where many regions have nectar flow all year round! 
We have to modify our practices and our expectations of the Flow hive to match where we live.
Also, I may have skimmed too quickly & missed how you have been treating for mites. If you haven’t yet, you will need to in order to give your colony a better chance of surviving winter this year.
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Sounds good. I think I was given false expectations by my neighbor who set up six Flow hives, didn’t care for them much at all, never treated for mites, and lost the lot of them every winter, but he was passing out honey like there was no tomorrow after his first summer! We must have had an incredible season for nectar that year. These last years have been incredibly dry. Even the grass is dying if not in the shade of a tree. I’ll take off the super and treat for mites later this week. If I take the super off with tons of bees in it should I just leave it on the ground nearby for a bit? Will they all go back to the hive? If should I treat for mites with the super on, since there is not honey? I am using Apivar strips.
That’s not a good way to take care of your bees…
Just leave it leaned up against the front of the hive and they will walk in.
The Apivar leaves residue so remove the super before treating.
So I took the super off yesterday and put Apivar in my brood boxes. I left the super out next to the hive over night and the bees have not gone into the hive??? Thoughts? It doesn’t help that temps were mid 80s yesterday and today they are in the 50s…
Like I said before - it may help to lean it up against the hive so they can walk straight in.
They have wings, no?
Well, there is a feeder in the way (added after I snapped the shot). The clump is gone from the top of the super but there are still quite a few bees swarming around it and crawling in it. I’ll have to suit up to move it. They seem reluctant to leave. If their bottom two brood boxes are full, will removing the super promote a swarm?
There might be some traces of nectar in there, enticing them plus it smells like their home, so they stick around. Same thing would happen if you put an empty but previously-used box in your yard. You could try going out at dawn and shaking off stragglers who will be cold and less able to cling on, in front of the hive so they can either crawl in or fly the short distance once they warm up a little.
Swarming is a springtime event. At this time of year in areas like ours, brood rearing is slowing down in preparation for winter. As the brood area shrinks they will store nectar (or sugar water) in the empty cells. Make sure the solution you’re providing is a heavier syrup like 5:3 instead of 1:1 or they won’t be able to get it dried to stable thickness before it gets too cold. Switch to dry sugar and/or winter patties soon.