Hole in inner cover

Flow Hive
1

Can anyone tell me why there is a hole in the centre of the inner cover? Looks to me as though the bees could get into the roof cavity.

2

Hi Phil

Have a look at this thread : Bees making Honey in the roof of the flow hive Super

Cheers

3

The way I understand it, the hole is there in case you decide to use an upside down jar feeder.

It is good for the bees to be able to access the roof. I believe it’s a good indicator of the strength of a colony. If you find the roof full of bees, it will be a good idea to check on the brood to see if they are preparing to swarm.

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4

Ok - but as you need to remove the roof to check for bees it’s not too much more trouble to check the bottom box which you should be doing regularly?

5

In the Flow Hive Classic Assembly Guide it says,…“we cover the feeder hole of the inner cover with screen mesh or a piece of wood”.
I found my bees completely propolised the mesh; others have not had that happen. Now I use a thin piece of ply that the bees propolise and secure to the cover, but is easy to remove to use a top feeder if you need to. I am in Tasmania and am worried about heat loss up through the hole.

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6

Maybe I’m checking in the wrong place - couldn’t see anything in the flow frame instruction manual!

7

Yeah - it’s in the Assembly Guide- at least it is in mine. Pages not numbered, but second last page under, “6. Configurations”.

8

I wouldn’t have the hole uncovered as then you potentially have bees swarming over the inner cover when you put the roof back on and they get crushed at the edges. You can’t swivel the roof into place but have to put it on squarely and you can’t really see the edges to see if there are bees on them…

2 Likes
9

Hi Phil, Here is the link for the faq about feeders and the hole in the inner cover:

https://www.honeyflow.com/faqs/what-feeders-will-work-with-a-flow-hive/p/188#a1

Assembly guide:


inner cover hole.jpg1055Ă—779 232 KB

10

Hi Phil, I would recommend removing the roof so you can inspect the honey frames before harvesting any honey. That being the case, if you do remove the roof to find it full of bees, that should ring alarm bells that a brood inspection is warranted. If I had one of those inner covers, I’d leave the hole open.

If I was given a flow hive as a gift, I’d replace the inner cover with a vinyl mat that has bee space right around it & replace the roof with a migratory lid.

How often do you intend on doing brood checks?