Hi Rob
It was interesting to read about your bee adventure.
I have a few comments.
I suspect the lady you got the Eu bees from tried to use Asian bees in the Flow hive. I understand Asian bees are smaller than Eu bees.
When I installed my bees, I noticed the 8 frames did not fit tightly into the Flow brood box, but there was not enough room for a ninth frame. I think it was good advice from others to move the frames close together and leave gaps on the sides only.
Once your (replacement) colony gets fully established in the brood box, with a good population and all the frames well built, that’s the time to add a honey super. I think others have pointed that out.
My bees did not like the Flow frames and didn’t use them till the following honey season, but for you, I suspect the bees don’t like to use the Flow frames because the honey super is too hot. There is the high ambient temperature, plus the heat from the bees rising up to the super. You might like to try making your hive horizontal, as I have done and discussed here: Convert Flow Hive to horizontal. That way each box has a base board and a lid. The extra lid will give more ventilation.
The comb on the frames in all your pictures looks very black/dark. The darker the wax gets, usually the harder it gets and it gets dark as it gets dirty, from use. The harder it is, the more work for bees and us. The brood box comb gets dark very quickly, as the larvae defecate in the cell and some of that will be transferred to the wax. So it is dirty also and may be a source for disease. I have noticed Small Hive Beetle (SHB) is attracted to it more than clean wax, as it has a stronger smell. So it attracts pests too. I don’t know if you have them (SHB) over there, but I talk about rotating frames in the link above also, which is a way to prevent swarming and get black wax out of the hive. For that you need a hybrid super, or more than super or more than one hive.
I am a Buddhist monk ordained in Thailand and have come back to live in Oz. I call myself a freelance/Zen monk now, as I don’t follow many of the minor very restrictive rules. I keep bees. A friend of mine, who is a Thai national, used to be a monk with me here in Oz, but returned to Thailand and disrobed. I’ve encouraged him to raise bees. He lives in the south, Chumporn, but if he comes to BKK, would it be ok for him to visit you?
best wishes