Your flow frames are most definitely propolized, @RobThai. If you haven’t removed them already please do so asap. Your bees really can’t manage the space at the moment, with low numbers and a questionable queen situation. Let them build up in a proportionate space & give those nice Flow frames a good wash 
Hey @RobThai, thank you for sharing your expereince. I am in Chiang Mai and about to start a flow hive in 3 weeks or so. My Thai friend who was told by the honey farm where we are getting (supposedly) European honey bees, that she tried the flow hive and it did not work as the bees are too small.
This has made me slightly confused as, as you know there is nothing information wise about keeping bees in Thailand, so we are doing everything western sized (Thai hives seem a little different). I noticed one of the reasons given was that your problem may occur if the bees are too small.
Have you checked to see that you have western honey bees? I am only youtube educated so can not offer any help in this regard. I am also having a hell of a time finding out if the frames used in the Thai hives are the same size as the ones used in the Langstroth 10 frame hive, which is what the flow hive is designed after. I am thinking I may have to order the frames from overseas. You had people comment the frames were two wide apart, so it makes me wonder if you had the correct amount of frames in the broad box? Or if you got them locally and the frames are made for whatever size bee hives the Thais are using.
I wish you well and hope that we can share some information between the two cities. I also noticed that you did not mention if you were using sugar water to feel the bees since you are not in an area with good flowering material. I am trying to find out which plants that grow in Thailand produce nectar - it seems from casual observation that many flowers here do not have bees attracted to it, which is why most of the honey is Longan, or wild flowers. I would image not too many wild flowers are being grown in Bangkok gardens
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Hi Eva, do you mean that the bees filled all the gaps in the flow frames with propolis? I do see real propolis at several places, but it is brown black and a bit granular. The bees used it to close holes at some places or to glue the queen divider. The wax that is used to make the combs in the brood box is quite dark everywhere, even the newly made wax is darkish. It might have to do with the source of nectar? As you can see the 2 bumps on the last picture is relatively new, but that color is similar to what is in the flow-frames.
Anyway, I have decided to take off the flowframe box for the coming months and see how they manage.
And yes, I will limit the amount of pictures and only post the interesting/relevant. 
Hi Andrew, I hope it works for you, Chiangmai seems a better area for more constant honeyflow than Bangkok.
Yes, there is very little info about beekeeping in Thailand and the beekeepers that are here do it in their own way, often not much related to “best practices” in other countries.
Of course, Thailand is a bit different than many other countries with real seasons, so many practices that are used all over the world do not seem to apply here.
My bees are definitely European bees, the size is right and they are not too small. If fact, I noticed a few of them even got stuck in the queen excluder… So I do not know what the Thai beekeeper works with.
My hive came from a Thai-made box, which is often a bit over sized. The frames are hand-made, it seems, questionable quality wood, a bit bend, curved, definitely not exact standard sizes but that is common in Thailand…
So at the moment there are original wooden Flow frames and the Thai frames in the same box and they all fit reasonably. I could force another frame in if I wanted but that would be really tightly packed.
Sugar water: I used that in the beginning, when they first came to my place, but while they like it and use it, I thought it would be better to see if they can find enough around the house. Since that is not really possible, it seems, I will install the feeder again. I use sugarcane sirup in an upside down marmalade-jar with a few tiny holes in the lid , it is quite cheap in the super markets.
The honey that I did extract a few months ago was tasting of mango, so they do use those trees and there are quite a few mango trees around in this area. But you are right, I have several flowers in the garden that attract the small native wild bees but not these European bees. Also the banana trees from our neighbors are swarming with little wild bees but not mine… 
Anyway, I will continue and try to make the hive healthy again!
Good luck with your Flow Hive.
Rob
Fantastic I am glad you are still doing it. Will keep you informed of my progress
Yes. Not wax. Propolis hardens over time and you’ll have a problem operating those frames in the future if you don’t clean it off now while it’s still soft (hopefully).
There is an alternative for removing propolis that Cedar has described. Put the affected frame in the freezer for a day or two, then operate the mechanism as soon as you pull it out. The cold makes the propolis brittle and much of it will fall off when you turn the Flow key a few times.
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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
Hi Joe,
As you can see from my (too many) pictures, these are real European bees, not the shorter and less hairy Asian bee. I am quite convinced about that. This website shows a good comparison:https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/animal-industries/bees/diseases-and-pests/asian-honey-bees/identifying-asian-honey-bees
Yes, I am going to take off the Flow frames for a few months and clean them. I don’t think I will convert to another type of hive at this point.
Regarding your friend, I have nothing to offer him, not even advice , so I do not see the need for him to visit.
Thanks for your advise and tips.
Best wishes,
Rob
I wasn’t questioning what you had, but what the lady used when she tried.
yes, thanks, a good comparison pic
It wasn’t another type of hive, just a different (horizontal) configuration of the normal, Langstroth hive.
It was not so much a need, but just a friendly gesture and just for him to see what you’re doing and see a Flow hive.
best wishes
Do you still have bees? I am in Eastern Bangkok. I had Asian bees move in under my roof twice this year and I tried to move them into a box. The first colony was under my roof for most of a year and kept growing but the queen absconded after about a week in the box. Half the bees stayed but failed to establish a new queen. When I tried to move the second colony into the box, they absconded right away.
I finally gave up and got a colony of Western bees on Monday. I’d love to compare notes if you’re interested.
Unfortunately my colony disappeared… I think the queen died and while there was some activity it became less and less and one day asian bees were robbing the remaining honey and all was gone. While I live in a suburban area with many gardens I don’t think there was enough nectar and flowers, combined with the fact that I had only 1 hive so they were a bit lonely and could not mix with other hives for stronger offspring… At least, that is one of the arguments from my bee supplier.
Where did you get your European bees from? I still have the flowhive and would like to try it again. But maybe this time 2 boxes…
I got a six frame colony of bees from a beekeeper in Chonburi this June. He put them into my box and I brought them to my home in Eastern Bangkok. They have built up to 8.5 frames now and the number of bees keeps going up.
I hope to use a shallow super and see if my bees will put honey up there. If that happens, I might try a flow super next. I put the shallow super on at first without frames just as a space to hold a feeder to get them going with some sugar syrup.
Many people here will only try to harvest honey in May (unless they do the regular spinning of frames of uncapped honey and brood).
I asked the guy I got the bees from if I should have two boxes instead of one and he told me to start with one and then try two later if it looks like they are doing well.
I do wonder if I should look for bees from another source and start a second box to add some genetic diversity allowing for new queens to mate when that becomes an issue since there are probably not other Western bees in my area.
If you are looking for bees and don’t want to have to go too far from Bangkok to get them, you might try this guy. He charged 300 baht per frame when we got these.
Rob, I don’t know if you have decided to give it another shot. My bees have survived the first year. They are looking strong and have built up in numbers although I’ve not gotten any real honey from them. There is a little Facebook group of English language beekepers on Facebook if you’re interested to join. I’m planning to get a queen or colony to start a second box of bees real soon.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1702013669921303/?ref=group_browse
I would like to try another time, I think my garden is now more ready for it. I am interested so if you have some info where to get a new hive… I still have the Flow super here, but part of the lower box was in bad shape, as well as the roof so those are gone. Basically i have to start over.
Hi Rob and others reading this thread. I am new to this site and although I have UK beekeeping experience I have no idea about Thailand. I am hoping to help a friend set up flow hives on a coconut farm in Baan Paew, Samut Sakorn province. Can anyone give me any advice on this. Has anyone managed to make flow hives work in Thailand?
It’s always disheartening when something like that happens.