I just received my first Flow Hive and would like to ask a few things.
I have been all over the site, read the blog etc but still am not too sure of the following. Can I use a natural oil wood treatment, on the outside only, which has biocides in it ? I will be using EM ceramics in whatever treatment I use so that should counteract the biocide aspect. I develop oikosystems on roofs in cities across the Mediterranean so I will be putting an oikosystem roof on the Flow hive, probably lichen, moss & aromatic herbs like Hellenic thyme. Can I anti root waterproof using copper sheet or is this not good for the bees ?Also, I have a large garden shed, can I put the flow in there to protect it from the elements in the winter and leave the door open ? Finally, I have bought a bee swarm pheromone attractor. Would you recommend buying a virgin queen & a few workers, an entire established colony or is the pheromone enough ?
This might be of a help to you, https://uk.linkedin.com/in/andrew-michael-clements-99429915
You could house the bee hive in a garden shed but it will make inspections more difficult with more bees around the hive. You might on some days have issues to get a garden tool out of the shed to use or working in the shed without wearing a bee suit.
Normally folks buy a nuc which includes a mated queen and includes enough bees to form a small colony that will build comb and expand in numbers. You could buy a full colony, including the queen but most don’t go in that direction.
The only time to use a pheromone is to attract bees to a hive. Most use lemon grass oil for that purpose.
I would find your local bee group, join them, and go by their advice as they know bee keeping in your area.
Cheers
Hi Andrew. Use either tung oil or danish oil on the exterior of the hive, 3 coats min. That will protect the hive in our climate. Not a good idea to move the hive into a shed during Winter as bees don’t like their hives being moved unnecessarily. You would have to lock them in for a while and they would need to completely re-orientate upon release. Bees are fine in our Winter as long as they are prepared properly before Wintering. I wouldn’t plant a garden on the hive roof either as this will severely affect your ability to inspect properly, and the jury’s out on the effects of oxidised copper on honey bees. You may get lucky with your swarm pheromone, as we are in swarming season at the moment. Failing that purchase a nuc as mentioned above. That way, the colony should be well established at the end of the year ready for the Winter.
Too pic looks like copper but I can see wood gables. As an educated guess I’d say line the underneath of the copper roof shell you make of build it on a wooden base.
Love this idea though. Super cool. My good friend works for Bauder and when I first came across these roof tops (school) I was amazed.
Please post updates of your project .
I agree you don’t need to keep the hive in a shed I use my garden parasol during winter for some protection or you could build a shelter.
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