Hi guys I am in Sydney Australia and started my second flow hive at Christmas.
It is about ready for the duper on top but should I put it on in autumn or leave it until spring.
Thanks in advance.
Jat
Hi Jat, Sydney has several climates, if you are in the outer Western suburbs you will get frosts but on the north or south side the chances are remote of such a harsh bee climate. So you need to consider your own micro-climate. You should also take into account the hive and you should on a calm and warm day do a hive inspection down as far as the brood, the hive I am guessing, is still bringing some pollen and nectar but is there enough to warrant a duper? super being added with winter coming. Is there space in the hive for more nectar and pollen? There is a lot to consider before I would advise you. You could join a local bee group and ask someone there to have a look at your hive and advise you, there help would be invaluable.
Welcome to the forum by the way, you will find it interesting as you get into bee keeping.
Regards
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I would not be supering up at this time of year. I have been packing my hives down for winter, not expanding them.
Cheers
Rob.
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Where do u live in Australia
Woodford in the Blue Mountains. I have a friend at Lake Macquarie with bees and he packs down in winter, he certainly does not super up.
I checked the hive and it is packed.
It is a 10 frame hive.
I have put it on SSA and see how it goes.
You might want to remove your private info (e-mail, phone number) from this message @Jat. This forum is open to the public, and has been known to have spambot visits. Most people use private messages to exchange that sort of stuff. Shame we have to care about it, but that is the modern world, I suppose.
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Hi @Jat, I am in the northern suburbs of Sydney and have a bunch of hives in the north west, not much nectar coming in either area at the moment, some gums are budding up but they probably won’t flower till June/July. I don’t need to pack down however will be making sure there is at least 3-4 full frames in each super.
Great to meet someone local.
Can I take a couple of frames out of my other hive and put in the new super?
Yep, that shouldn’t be an issue. This is just to equalise their stores right?
You can add a couple of frames of capped brood over to a weaker hive but make sure you have removed any bees by shaking the frame over each of the donor hives, the bees on the frame will be attacked by the bees of the new hive that is receiving the frame and kill them. You can do that every 10 to 14 days till both hives are about equal in bee numbers. Being on the Nth shore there will be enough pollen and nectar about for them to build up there stores and I suspect the hives will remain active over your very mild winter.
But to answer your original question I would wait for the first sign of Spring then add the flow hive, spread a bit of wax over the frames as it seems the bees will more accepting of the frames then.
Regards…
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Thanks a lot for the help.
The easiest way to put wax on a Flow frame I have come across is to put some foundation or comb in a small saucepan and put that into a larger saucepan with some water in it. Put it on the stove to a low heat till the water is simmering and the wax melt. With an old 2" paint roller or a paint brush dip it in the wax and paint it over the ends of the cells to get enough that you know it is coated. The bees will be much quicker to make use of the Flow Super…
Regards
Nuh uh. The easiest way is to take some burr comb on a hive tool during an inspection, and smear it on the Flow frames (gently). You don’t need much, and it works within days. 
And yes, I have done it myself. 
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