Hi from Australia

Thanks Rodderick,
Very keen to have a go at this. Yes I will be getting a suit sorted with smoker before I go anywhere near it. I’m sure they will be pretty pissed off when I take to their home with a loud saw. I’ll do more research on the you tube vids and let you know how it works out. My grandfather is bringing up some old brood boxes and smoker next week from his collection. I’d have a go today if I had the gear. Can’t get it quick enough!

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You’d be surprised, I’ve done a few cut outs and one tree, generally they seem to stay fairly quiet, the chainsaw didn’t seem to upset the bees in the tree much at all, I think they tend to stay close to the brood in that kind of situation. At least that’s my experience.
You really have nothing to lose having a go, if the colony doesn’t make it, well there days are probably numbered anyway so no real loss.
As Roderick says though, as long as you get a good a amount of brood and enough bees to cover it, you should be fine.

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Hi, we have a wheely beekeeper here in Adelaide. She uses the boxes with the smaller size frames.

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Hello universalpuzzle, from my experience in Tasmania most beekeepers use 8 frame ideal boxes and no excluders. These boxes are about half the height of standard boxes and of course have the advantage of being easy to lift. You could probably get away with 4 of these for brood and honey stores plus a Flow box for honey during Summer. The brood boxes are swapped around during Spring to stimulate the queen to lay more. Place the hive at a height most convenient for you preferably in a sheltered and sunny spot. The bees will cluster and hibernate during Winter. I was down there during the last fortnight and I don’t blame them.

hello Stu, perhaps someone might like to experiment with a long horizontal hive with ordinary frames at the entrance end for the brood and Flow frames at the other end. A follower board can be used as the hive builds up in strength. I have heard of people using this type of hive quite successfully. Same sort of layout as a top bar hive but with movable frames. It would allow people with a disability to easily access the brood box.

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Hi Sam - will be trying to make the Hunter Valley Amateur
Beekeepers Association meeting. If I do look forward to meeting you. I am wondering what the general feeling of that group is to the Flow Hive!

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Hi Rodderick,
FYI Here’s some snaps of the fallen tree and species of bee that are living inside. Not sure if they are clear enough to identify.
Sam

Here’s some close ups of two dead ones that were being dragged out of the tree by green ants.

I should have warned everyone the above pictures may offend some bee lovers… Lol kidding. It does kind of suck seeing them dead though…

They are quite a dark bee like a Caucasian. Chances are they have interbred with many other bee types so impossible to say what species. Nice looking bee :honeybee: though

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“Mutt” bees are so resilient to pests and diseases. I treasure them. Is there a local agency that tests for the race of bees?

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Thanks for accepting my application. Great to have some more local contacts. I’ve ordered a nuc for delivery in the spring. Now I’m finalizing plans for my first ever beehive.

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Hi Rodderick and KCpaul,
I have managed to cut into my first hive! Harder than I thought but very interesting. Found a lot of rotten comb that did have a heap of honey and brood inside but due to the rain and tree collapse, roughly half of the hive was black, rotten comb. Found very little brood but a fair amount of capped honey. found the queen however she looked pretty crook with a damaged wing, I suspect the wing damage was from the tree collapse hence the low brood amount? Or is it just because we are going into our winter that there was little brood? Hive beetle was present amongst the hive as well as a “maggot” type grub. Could this be wax moth? So many questions! Placed the brood box near the hive with as much good comb I could find with a top feeder of sugar water to help them get through winter. Not sure if they’ll take to it but fingers crossed. With the amount of rot from the rain it looked like the hive was doomed anyway. At least I’ve had a go at saving it! Any suggestions from here gladly taken. I have two spare boxes as well now.

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Great job, the grubs will most likely be Beetle larvae. Can only hope for the best with the queen, if she is injured the bees may supersede her by themselves. Keep up the feeding to get them through winter. Check them in a week or two on a nice sunny day with no wind, look for new eggs and larvae to confirm the queen is still laying. Cleanup any burr or bridging comb to keep the comb inside the frames.

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Hey Katie, I live SE QLD also. Newbee with a brood getting ready for my Super Flow, We are a family trying to do the self sufficient living thing. And we love honey.

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Hi. I am from Melbourne too but now living in France. Whereabouts are you? We lived in Macleod. I am novice beekeeper ie never kept them but thought I would say Hi from across the waters to another Melbournian

@StephanieM Where abouts in France?? I’m from Melbourne as well but live in UK - Cheltenham was my stomping ground

Chabanais in the Charente. Have you kept bees before?

No. you?

I just got my Bees today

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Hi from Ipswich, QLD - Australia!