# No Honey or Building in the Super?



## Matthewallen (Sep 28, 2016)

I am in the midst of a beekeeping challenge: it’s September and the honeybees aren’t building in the honey super. For around the last month, I find small groups exploring the frames in the super but never a sign of building comb. I know that the honeybees will not move into the super until the empty cells in the brood chambers are filled. 

Still, I put the first honey super on the new hive in mid-July. After giving them a week, I set a honey super on the original hive because the new hive is a little more ambitious than its parent colony. Each colony had filled the bottom brood chamber and 1/2 -3/4s of the upper brood chamber. And yet, no comb in the honey supers. I am curious, is Northeast Ohio experiencing a nectar drought of sorts? I noticed that very few of the forager or field bees are returning to the hives with their saddles full; most are empty-handed. I did start feeding them a 1:1 of sugar water 1.5 weeks ago. 

Should I expect to get honey this year? Or should I do all that I can to build the colonies up for winter survival? I know the goldenrod is blooming and a local farmer's alfalfa should bloom one more time this season but the corn that I relied on last year is gone. I feel like the colonies are lacking in food resources in the field so to speak. 

Any comments, ideas, or suggestions is always appreciated!


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

The honey season is over get the hive ready for winter.


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## tech.35058 (Jul 29, 2013)

Welcome to beesource.
I don't know about honey/nectar flows in your area, but if they haven't made enough for you to harvest some by now, they probably aren't going to.
Of course there are those who say to take _all_ the capped honey & feed back sugar, but its probably a little late to be doing that in your area.
best advice will com from bee keepers closer to you. Good Luck ... CE


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## GZB (Jan 29, 2013)

I'm with Dan on this one. Get the supers off. If you keep feeding, they MIGHT still build out the upper brood box if you are lucky. We're getting frosts here already.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

Welcome... This is usually the overflow section "everything honey" Things like comb honey questions or honey straws etc. I imagine most folks on the forum never enter this section. If you want your question to get exposure move it to the section Beekeeping 101 or Bee Forum.
Again Welcome..


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