I keep 2 hives in rural Kong Kong which are inhabited by the Asian Honey Bee (Apis cerana). These bees are smaller than the European Honey Bee and not so productive. They also have the annoying habit of being somewhat itinerant, so the hives are empty for part of the year, only to be re-inhabited 2-3 months later.
Will the flow Hive be suitable for the Asian Bee?
The greatest threat we get is from the Giant Asian Hornet (Vespa mandarinia), which queue up outside the hives to snatch bees. We have witnessed the bees forming a swarm around these hornets and cooking them to death! However, we really need to be able to prevent these monsters from entering the hive. Will the Flow Hive help?
I think @Faroe has some information that the hive does work with Apis cerana.
No, I can’t see how the Flow hive design can help against the hornets. The best defense is Apis cerana, which is much better at fighting them off than Apis mellifera.
Other than that, there are some entrance modifications used by European beekeepers who are suffering from Asian hornets. They use a wire mesh structure over the entrance. The mesh is big enough to allow bees through, but too small to let hornets into the hive.
The Flow Frames have been tested in Japan with Apis Cerana, and they have had success.
The Flow Hives will have nothing to do with the wasps as Damn has mentioned. The Flow Frames are an internal component, and do not affect the outide of the hive.
Sounds like your bees are doing the right job and cooking the wasps alive. Jeff shared a video about this one time on the forum.
The best thing to do is look at the other topics on our forum in regards to wasps:
