I am very interested in beekeeping and I want to become a beekeeper, however I live in an EXTREMELY hot climate (45-60 degrees Celsius during summer) and want to buy a flow hive but I am afraid the flow frames will melt; Is this possible and if so are there any solutions (other than putting them under a cover to provide shade)?
I will be very grateful for some answers.
Hello and welcome to the Flow forum! ![:blush: :blush:](https://emoji.discourse-cdn.com/twitter/blush.png?v=12)
Flow frames can tolerate temperatures of up to 70°C for limited periods of time, but I wouldn’t want to leave them in that kind of heat for an extended period. Beeswax will melt at much lower temperatures, and there are many descriptions of honeycomb melting and slumping when the climate gets very hot. You may want to check whether there are any bee clubs in your local area. If there aren’t, it may be that your climate is not suitable. You could also ask for information from the Biology or Entomology Department of a local University - somebody there should know whether beekeeping is possible in your region.
As an aside, you should realize that the temperature outside the hive is often not the same as the temperature inside. Bees cannot survive temperatures above 45°C for more than a few minutes. In fact, they use this fact to kill unwanted queens when they “ball” her and exercise their muscles to heat her up.
Within limits, bees will control the temperature inside the hive. They work very hard to keep the brood nest at around 35°C for optimal development conditions for baby bees. Providing they have access to plenty of water, they can do this in many climates. That means that the honey super will also have its temperature regulated to some extent, and they will definitely try to keep it below 45°C, both for their own health (so that they can work in the plastic frames without dying), but also to stop the wax from melting (they do wax the plastic frames too).
In summary, I think that the plastic melting is the least of your concerns. First it would be very important to know whether anyone is able to keep bees at all in your climate. ![:wink: :wink:](https://emoji.discourse-cdn.com/twitter/wink.png?v=12)
1 Like
Thanks a lot for the answer it was very useful. I know a local beekeeper in the area and will try to contact him to get his opinion.
1 Like