Indiana Honey Flow

[cindyf]

Is anyone near Indiana and if so have you been getting much honey in your supers?  This is just my second year to have bees. Last year I started with a Package and got 7#s which isn't much but it was more than I expected the first year and gave me a taste of it. This year I expected to be ahead of the game since the comb in the bodies was drawn out and a few of the frames in one super. But they have yet to build any more comb in the super or put one drop of honey in the frames already drawn out. What am I doing wrong? Other people around me are getting some honey.  I hate inspecting the brood chambers because they have the frames all connected together with comb and when I try to pull a frame out I make one glob of a mess. Are some bees sloppier comb builders than others? I started another Package this year and so far they are about to catch up to the package I installed last year, only with straighter built comb. When is the main honey flow in Indiana? Am I just getting anxious? There are a lot of bees in both hives.

[IndianaBrown]

I just started - one hive from a nuc and one from a swarm.  Both still have some building up to do, but both are putting some honey away.  

By the look of things I am guessing that I will harvest at least 1 medium super from the nuc hive and still leave them enough for winter.

[TaoAndThen]

This is also my first year. The colony seems to be drawing comb and storing honey quite well considering the cool weather we have had here in Indianapolis. However, the work is not as extensive on the North end of the hive.

Once the bees started drawing the drone frames, there has been little connecting comb. I had to entice them by placing the drone frames closer to the center for a couple weeks. Now they are both on the outside.

It has been so difficult to find information on bloom cycles specific to Indiana. Hopefully, my gardener friend will be able to help. I provided her with a list of local honey plants with the bloom information I have found. She will verify the average bloom schedule here, and I will post the information. It may not be compiled in time to help us this year, but we'll be more aware next year.

Amy