I received what I thought was a box of bees and when I opened it to transfer them into my new flow hive it was an established brood box with 4 frames full of comb and bees. I guessed that transferring the frames into my flow hive was my best option. They all fit well although one or two are about 4mm short at the top so aren’t perfectly aligned like my flow frames. I couldn’t see where the Queen was; she wasn’t left in the box. Is it ok to just leave them on their original frames in my flow hive with the empty flow frames either side? I’ve left their original box on the floor beside it for now because I couldn’t get them all out of it. I live in a honey producing area in Spain but speak just a little Spanish and there are no flow clubs here to help.
You can use the frames that you were given if they rest well enough and you can put empty brood frames with or without foundation next to them to make up the rest of the 8 or 10 frames that will fit in your brood box.
I am a little confused by your question about putting “empty flow frames either side.” The 6 or 7 yellow plastic flow frames should go inside the flow super to put on top of your brood box, once the brood box is fully drawn and full of bees.
Could you describe your set up more clearly or add some pictures?
That’s great - they will find their way inside fairly quickly.
Thank you, yes, I understand about the plastic cone filled super frames. I’ve put them away for what I had anticipated would be about two months although that may be less now? I meant the empty frames that are in the brood box. I’ve just been up and taken some pics. Only a few bees still on the original box on the floor there. I’ll try to figure out how to add pics now.
Sounds like you got a Nuc. Best and fastest way to get your colony established.
You have drawn frames the queen can lay in. Storage for resources and less work for your bees to draw out the empty frames.
What you’ve done is spot on. Empty frames to the outside.
Feed your bees regularly. Takes alot of food and energy to draw out comb.
You’ll have to see how quickly your bees draw the empty frames in your brood box. You may even be in an area where a two brood set up is recommended. Once all the brood frames are fully drawn you can consider placing the super, which may not be in the first season. You may need to consult with some local beekeepers (not necessarily Flowhive) to see when they usually harvest and prepare for the winter. I believe there are some other English speaking Spanish keepers on this forum.
Depending on your local climate and forage, there may be extended periods without significant nectar availability (called a dearth). I looked up your climate on weatherspark and it sounds like it is similar to the weather in the central California Sierra foothills - very dry and warm in the summer and long cold, but not frigid winters. The weatherspark page also suggests Tumut, NSW, Australia as having a similar climate. I think that is west of Canberra.
Do you have a lot of agricultural activity near you? What are the dominant crops?