To Feed or Not to Feed...

My dilemma right now is whether I should feed my bees or not.  About two weeks ago, I checked my hive and almost all frames were covered all over with bees... and a lot more bees are coming up because there are still lots of capped broods.  But I did not see any stored honey!  I did see a few open cells with nectar dotting here and there, which I believe were once brood cells. 

I am getting mixed info about honey flow period.  A beekeeper from Alfonso (about 8 km away from Amadeo), told me that their honey flow is over and he is not expecting anymore honey harvest this summer.  And he also told me that if I have lots of bees and no stored honey, my bees are in danger of starvation and the bees might abscond.  However one of my professor at CVSU (5 km away) told me that this summer is the period of honey flow.  Indeed, lots of trees are in bloom like mango, coconut, coffee, narra, and acacia. My galo tree is also in bloom right now and so is my guyabano tree.

Below is the map of Amadeo, Cavite.  The greenish circle represents 300-meter radius of foraging area while the reddish circle represents 900-meter radius.  Of course, Apis cerana has been recorded to forage up to 3 kilometers away from its hive.  Unless climate change will have considerable negative effect on the flowers, I don't think my bees are in danger of running out of natural food, especially since there are very few beekeepers around my area.  

For health reasons (mine and the bees), I really don't want to feed sugar-water.  I believe it is like giving bees junk foods.  The more I intervene with nature, the more harm I might cause.

But to be on the safe side, I actually put a liter of sugar-water outside the hive.  The last time I did that, the bees did not touch it.  Maybe the beekeeper at Lipa, Batangas is right.  He told me that if there are lots of natural forage in the area, the bees will not feed on the sugar-water even if it is inside the hive.   So, I guess, I will leave the decision to the bees.

Another issue I am facing is overcrowding.  During my last visit this week, again there were lots of bees outside near the entrance.  Maybe they did not like the box-hive super I added below.  I just hope they will not swarm again and reduce the strength of the colony.