We currently have two hives with flow frames in them (last year only one hive). We do not use queen excluders. So far, we have had no experiences with the flow frames being used as brood frames.
Anyone know where I can get the metal queen excluders with bee space and a closable top entrance combined? I saw them mentioned somewhere on this forum. I have had bad experiences with the cheap plastic ones I brought, only small bees can get though. I made an upper entrance above the flow frames but they wonât use it.
Hiya Gill, Iâm sure metal qxâs are available around your area but where are you???
Hi skeggley, Iâm in Esperance, currently running 2 hives without QX with 2 X 8 frame deep brood boxes.
Last year I only had a single brood box with wax foundation frames under the flow hive, had great results until I got nervous and put the plastic QX on, after this there were only half as many bees working the flow frames and a much reduced second harvest.
Now Iâm trying to use 2 brood boxes with some foundation less frames and no QX under the flow hives. No harvest yet this year as they have been filling the second brood box but both hives really strong and waxing up the frames. I know I can buy metal ones in Perth but liked the idea of a top entrance combined.
A closable top entrance would be good when I am whipper snipping under the hives!
Hi Gill, Iâm trying to figure out the purpose of the closable top entrance while whipper snipping.
No matter what entrance you close, youâll get a buildup of bees returning. Plus there may be some guard bees out at the same time.
I think that a good plan would be to, provided the colony has adequate ventilation, close them up in the evening. You can do the whipper snipping early morning before opening them up again.
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Yes⌠Thatâs exactly my plan too!
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iâve whipper snipped around my hives - so far without any problem.
Mine donât like lawn mowers or whipper snippers but they come from wild swarms, yours are probably more domesticated or sophisticated !!!
@Semaphore, I wouldnât dream of whipper snipping near mine without a bee suit on. Iâd leave that area untidy, like the rest of my yard at the moment.
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my whipper-snippering around the hives is done under the cover of darkness just after dusk, I can hardly see a thing but I figure that the bees wont fly, they frantically crawl all over the boxes in defense and touch wood, no stings so far.
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So I did take off the Queen excluder. It was going really well until it wasnât. I got so much brood in them! Back to the Queen excluder.
Had anyone found an Australian supplier of the gated metal ones? The nz supplier only has 10 frame ones.
I have chickens around the hives, no more need to whipper snip.
Beewise sells the metal 8 and 10 frame excluders. Not sure where they source them from though.
Thanks for that feedback Claire. Did you have two brood boxes and foundation less frames?
I had foundationless frames, but 1 brood box. I was just about to move up to 2. The flow had been on all winter but the brood started early spring. The bees really didnât take to the flow frames easily, they filled the brood nest with lots of honey, not leaving much room to lay.
If the bees want the queen to lay, they wont waste any time moving honey out of cells to make room for her to lay. Theyâll make good use of the flow frames for this purpose.
Your colony may need requeening with more vigorous bee genes if they are not making room for the queen to lay, especially during good times when other colonies are thriving in your area, if thatâs the case.
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Thanks for all the knowledgeable feedback from Claire and Jeff. I was working on the hypothesis that the queen lays 2000 eggs a day and a side of frame has 2000 cells ( is this right?) but only two thirds of the frame will be brood. Each bee takes 3 weeks from egg to bee.
But then every hive is different and that is what is so fascinating ! I am prepared to clean brood out of the flow frames if I have to and I will let you all know how things go this time next yearâŚif not before.
Hi Chilli, does that mean you donât like metal QX on your hives? Or does that mean you donât like QX anyway?
Hi Gill, you are welcome. The 2000 eggs that the queen can lay in a day is entirely dependent on the strength of the colony, how many cells are prepared for her by the workers, coupled with how much food she is fed. Itâs the âhives mindâ that determines all of this. This is all dependent on the time of the season along with the available food (pollen & honey) that the workers are bringing in, weather permitting.
I worked it out to over 6000 cells on a frame to potentially raise worker brood every 21 days. With that in mind, you can easily see how quickly a colony can build up to swarming strength, given the right conditions.
Queens can lay from 1,000 to 3,000 eggs per day. Workers often destroy eggs that they canât care for. If there isnât enough pollen/bee bread, fewer eggs will be allowed to progress.
A standard Langstroth deep frame has 3500 cells per side.
Yes please 
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I have metal but rarely use them.
Please understand that I donât use them because brood in the honey supers is really no big deal to me because I use conventional equipment. Brood in the supers just means an opportunity to make some medium frames nucs 
Also, my brood chambers and my colonies are huge; three 8 frame deeps all for the bees before a honey super goes on.
If youâre running the Flow super you might want to stick with manufacturerâs recommendations.
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