We live in Saskatchewan Canada. We do not leave our flowhive on the brood boxes for the winter as we get very cold weather. My question is should we clean the Flowhive frames back down to the original frames as they have wax and propolis on them?
The frames should be fine but after a few seasons I give them a 24 hour soak in water…more to remove granulated honey than anything…and leave them dry outside before I put them on the hive. My Flowhives have been used 6 seasons and are still fine…but areas/bee genetics can influence how much propolis is deposited on the frames. When harvesting honey, the frames open and close best when ambients are approximately 30C.
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I’d recommend getting the honey and nectar out and rinsing and drying and storing in a pest proof container (in an unheated space) but leave the wax - less for the bees to do in the spring.
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Great tip @Doug1 , I’m in my third season and have been leaving my frames on over winter and have noticed the bees not using the stores, a bit of mould forming and candied honey. I may employ this in my winter regimen.
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