I’ve been challenged now on two occasions that the flow hive is not good for the bees and have been presented with a few facebook postings about the negative aspects. One guy mentioned that is I necessary to humidify hive. How do you come back to these people and do any of you know anything about the humidity thing being an issue?
The nectar to become Honey has to be evaporated by The bees - if this is what he means it will be no different?
Thank you. Then I am to assume that the bees take care of this
themselves as a natural process.
In summer it is a source of water which they need and in Winter all the Nectar should be capped honey.
Hopefully peeps and Beeks here can answer those niggly questions
In summer bees bring water in as needed the water is spread over the comb and evaporated by fanning to cool the hive.
On a summer’s evening your apiary will sound like an air conditioner
Nurse bees consume a large amount of water to make the jelly food that larvae are fed with.
Bees also need water to dilute honey stores to feed in winter.
@Abear1952, What they could be possibly talking about is the reduced bee space while using Flow frames. It was one of my concerns, however bees have a knack of circulating air around whatever space is provided. A good test of that is when the bees cap the honey. If the bees are capping the honey, that means there is adequate bee space.
I’m not sure I understand their concern. There have been frames with no gaps on the end bars for well over a century and a half and the bees still seem to be doing fine in those and that would be the only thing I can see for them to complain about. I think anytime something new comes along people want to speculate on the outcomes. Why they want to vilify the Flow hive is a mystery to me. We have had closed end bars for 150 years. We’ve had fully drawn plastic comb for at least half a century. We’ve had plastic in the hives for about a century. None of these things destroyed beekeeping… The only difference with the flow hive is that you’ve simplified how you get the honey out.
I slays me how beeks who have never even touched a flow frame come out with these ‘pronouncements’ about how it will (or won’t) work.
And what is (or isn’t) good for the bees.
I figure that in two years either we will have found that ten years of development and research and fine tuning wasn’t enough and the flows are another interesting gimmick, or there will be the start of a huge shift towards adopting the system and everyone will be hanging on our words of experience as they follow along in our path.
That Indigogo contribution shows which way I am betting!
In the mean time I am living in the ‘least said, soonest mended’ area of the room. Time enough AFTER it works to talk about it.
The flow has certainly excited many folk and attracted novices to the craft which can only be a good thing and it is indeed somewhat foolish to dismiss any new invention totally out of hand but what is or isn’t good for the bees is better ‘pronounced’ upon by beekeepers with a little experience.
There is a lot of exuberance which is great but also a lot of doubtful ‘beginners’ wisdom’ in the pages of this forum
The Flow hive certainly works, there’s no doubt about that. Only a fool would say it doesn’t work. My main concern at this point in time is people taking honey before it is ripe. This is evident by a recent topic where someone got 2.5 cups (cups, not kilos) from one frame. Another person got 4.5 kilos from 3 frames that had been shortened by a few inches (say 3). I estimated that 3 frames that had been shortened by 3 inches should yield 7.5 kilos.
I, personally, am not as interested in the honey at this point as I am in helping the bees to survive. Of course, in time I will enjoy the nectar but in the beginning I’ll leave it to the bees. I’m just excited to get started!
Beekeeping has a lot of pitfalls. The flow hive doesn’t remove them. You can still harvest unripe honey (with or without a Flow hive). You can still not leave enough food for winter… these problems we have always had. Beginners will make those mistakes (as they always have) and either learn from them or give up (as they always have).
Hear Hear!!!