Hello all. I have some experience with bees but am excited to have found this forum so I can learn more!
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Hi Sara,
There a quite a few of us on this forum from California. I am in San Diego, but we have members in LA, Banning, San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco and Marin County, plus others who I have not remembered (sorry!).
Please let us know how we can help you, and welcome! 
Dawn
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Hello!!
I am Milton Singleton from New Jersey!
Hi Dawn,
My name is Atif. I am from the Bay Area (NorCal). Do you know anyone here around Newark, with a flow hive. I just got mine yesterday. I have still not assembled it. I have never done beekeeping but always wanted to do it. I am looking for someone who I can ask for guidance.
Thx,
Atif
Hi Atif, and welcome to the Flow forum! It seems I have missed a few messages, for some reason, but I am glad to have found yours now. I answered your question on the other thread where you posted it. 
In short, my answer is that I don’t know anyone in Newark, but given your proximity to SF Bay Area, there will be a good bee club for sure in the vicinity. Most bee clubs are operating via video link, even during the shut down, and you may well be able to find somebody to mentor you. I suggest that you don’t mention “Flow” hive, and just say that you have a Langstroth. That is absolutely true - the brood box is a Langstroth. I would also suggest that you look into getting a second brood box, unless your local club says not to do so. Our California weather can result in long nectar dearths, and you may need to fill 2 brood boxes before adding the honey super.
Thank you for your patience. 
Hello CA Flow Beekeepers.
Can you help me?
I’m in Sonoma and in need of a Flow Hive Key.
Is anyone in the area of Santa Rosa, Petaluma or Sonoma who would lend me their key for a day?
Thanks a bunch!
Hi Dawn, I am a new beekeepers and live in Corona, CA. Not too far from you. Someone else mentioned I connect with you because of your experience and are near by. My questions are, here the weather is so different than the rest of the US. It is zone 9 b, 10a. It is about 47 at night at 75 during the day current. In 1-3 months we may get a frost.
I am so confused about meeting a second brood box in this area. Do you use the second fruit box and do you recommend it. Also, very confused about if I should take off the super in the winter I just took mine off, but I’m wondering if it was the right choice. Also wanted to understand about feeding in the winter. And wanted to get your opinion on if there is enough nectar in this region to not feed in the winter or feeding is necessary. Any advice you can give me is very helpful.
I am in Zone 11b - coastal San Diego has moved up with global warming… 
I don’t use “fruit boxes”, but I do use a second brood box for all of my hives. It is too late to add one now. They should be on by May at the latest. Just because you have flowers, it doesn’t mean that you have nectar. Nectar flows in the weeks following good rainfall. Human irrigation is not enough to simulate rainfall. No nectar flow = no wax production. Plus temps below the mid 50s (F) also inhibit wax production and modeling by the bees - it takes too much energy when it is cold. Therefore they can’t build new comb efficiently, even if you give them the space.
Yes take it off. Leaving it on can lead to a world of hurt, including crystallized honey and propolis jamming up the Flow mechanism.
Feed if your bees don’t have enough stores. They need one frame of honey per week that they can’t forage nectar. I don’t know about nectar flows in Corona, but if they are anything like mine, that means July to January. While night temps are above 55°F you can use 2:1 white sugar syrup. After that, use fondant or dry white sugar.
There is not enough nectar. If your bees don’t have stores, feeding is obligatory. I have had very few hives that have not needed feeding.
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Thank you so much for all of your advice!! You really helped me have a deeper understanding of how everything works, including temps, wax production, feeding. Thank you!
I am new to this forum and still learning how it works as well.
I have experienced some great lessons in the last month!! And eager to learn and become the best bee mom I can be.
My hive has left me. This is hard news for me that I am just coming to terms with. From my understanding now, I think my queen was replaced because she was not laying enough.
About one month ago I inspected and saw 2 queen caps and ignored it hoping for the best. I did not spot the queen. Later I did take off the super, harvested some of the honey and left the frames out for the bees to glean the remainder. I started feeding the bees, there seemed to be a good number.
About 2 weeks later Then I noticed the bees frenzied in the yard and then settled in a swarm by the basil. I thought the queen may have died and this must be the new queen. So I did capture it and brought it to the hive thinking they needed a new queen. I learned that I should have just put the, in a new box. Then the next day they swarmed again same place, I found the queen and the looked very different then the first queen, her abdomen looked a little swollen and mishapen. I captured the queen with some of the beed and put them in a small box right below the basil where the wanted to be. I was trying to create a new home for them and they left.
My original hive is mostly empty, however the next day the bees returned to the hive. I am guessing to take resources. Now about 5 days later. The bees are still not in the hive. A bee or two will visit. There are bees in the garden on flowers but not as many. The hive itself has dried sugar in the top flat board. The frames are still there and empty with some pollen in some. The honey is gone. Some brood is still there.
I did not see any pests until August, then I saw a few small hive beetles in the pest management tray and a couple larvae. I monitored it and used peppermint oil with peppermint candies in the bottom board. I did not treat for mites or see mites. When I did the last inspection 2 days ago I found 2 small hive beetles and killed them.
My thinking is this. The hive made two new queen cells due to needing a new queen. They both birthed and mated in those two swarms and then relocated.
Or I could have also started feeding sooner, treated organically for mites, beetles. I think I need a second brood box on too. I originally thought they would go upstairs to the super and they had lots of honey, but, I leaned that they move upward and not downward, so thats why the need 2 brood boxes.
Now they are gone, my area feels so empty without them. I have so many fruit trees that they were enjoying and a big garden. I am now ready to figure out how I start again.
Wishful thinking is that a new colony will just find this hive,…
What do I do with the frames of wax, should I save them for future bees? Should I harvest the beeswax? Should I freeze them and save?
Should I start over sanitize the hive. Wait for spring and buy a new nuc? Or is it safe to put a new nuc in existing hive with current frames?
Lessons are many here and I am trying to lick my wounds and accept that beekeeping is challenging. I want to use only organic treatments and be as gentle as possible to the bees. I am proud of myself that I overcame a lot of fears, found the queen and captured her twice and a, willing to learn from my mistakes.
Thank you for any advice, wisdom and time in advance!!!
Freeze for 48 hours, then wrap in burlap to keep moths out and save for your next colony.
No need to sanitize the hive unless you see signs of bacterial infection in the brood. Wait for spring and buy a new nuc. You won’t get a good one until March or April, so don’t buy one now, even if you can find one.
Great, thanks so much