So far my bees are not going up into the flow hive frames. Do they finish the frames in the brooder box 1st then move upward or am I doing something wrong?
Bees only do what they need to do. If they havenât filled what they have or if there is nothing coming in, they wonât move up into empty spaceâŚ
Several questions for you first.
- When did you install your Bâs?
- If you put your Bâs on the hive, And the flow frames at the same time, that is a mistake
- depending on how long it has been set up this way you should remove the flow frames, and top box
- if this is not the case, the bees will eventually move up.
- But the bottom brood box needs to be well over 80 to 90% full before adding the flow frames
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Iâve been told to apply a coat of melted bees wax on my flow frames when I install them and maybe also a shot of sugar syrup sprinkle to entice them on to the plastic frames. Give it a go and let me know as I will be doing this come out Spring/Summer time Down Under.
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this implies that the brood box is not full. The brood box has to be totally full before adding the honey super/flow frames
Thank you Mr. Bush, I appreciate the reply.
Thank you Mr. Dallas - My bees came with almost 4 full short frames that the bees had been working on in their âoldâ home and I added empty traditional frames to fill in the box. The next day I added the top box with the flow hive frames. Should I remove them for the time being?
YES, I will find in the morning several post you can read where others have talked about just this topic.
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Does the second brood box have to 80% full before adding the flow frames box ( third box)?
Okay, I will do that tomorrow. Thank you so much!
Yes as still the same requirements for the bees and ratio of bees/brrod/honey before honey becomes âsurplusâ to bees requirements
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/how-do-i-determine-if-i-need-a-2nd-brood-box/5258/15?u=martydallas
This post should help. I do believe in your area as well it will be suggested you have 2 brood boxes at a minimum and one honey super i.e. your flow frames. Do check with your local bee club or mentors to find out if 2 brood boxes is recommended.
2 brood boxes are recommended for couple of reasons, one being after we harvest the honey out of the flow frames there may not be enough honey left in the single brood box to support the hive over the winter. In tropical climates this is not an issue for they can forage all year long. That is why Cedar and his father only designed it with one brood box and one honey super. The other reason to brood boxes are suggested, is that one brood box may have a total of 25,000 bees, with 2 brood boxes youâre likely to have 60,000 bees, with more bees more honey is produced faster. Studies have been done to look at having 2 hives with smaller number of these or have one hive with a larger number of bees, and the one hive with a large number of bees produces more honey than the 2 smaller boxes of hives.
I only have one hive for I live in a major residential area and just a little timid right now. But is highly suggested that you always have a minimum of 2 hives just so that you can do a compare and contrast against the 2 hives. You can tell if one is doing something different than the other and you can properly adjust. Again I only have one but I have a mentor that I go out to his farm quite often and help so that I got a little bit of compare and contrast.
I hope this helps, me being a new beekeeper like yourself would suggest maybe read more of my questions it may help you find answers.
Thanks again! I sure appreciate the wisdom of others that have experience. Our bees seems so happy and I love checking on them. I ordered another box with frames and hope to get it in soon. I do have one more question. The lady I bought the bees from really did not like the thought of the frames without the plastic piece and the bees adding the comb free form. What has been your experience?
Thank you Kirsten. I have notice other hives in the area having more than one box. I definitely wouldnât put my love of honey ahead of the bees 
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Even my mentor was reluctant on foundationalist frames. He wants to come by and take a look at what the bees have done
Again Iâm a new beekeeper like you Iâve just got six months on you is all. Anything I say is strictly form a new beekeeper but from a number of things I have read
Looking at my foundation was frames and the wax comb they have formed there is not a uniform size throughout The bees will make comb the size they need. Using wax foundation or plastic foundation so the bees will drawal out, theyâre all the same size so the bees donât have a choice
Also my understanding using foundationalist frames the bees will be a little bit more healthy because of the work they have to do.
Yes because of the amount of work they have to do a potential he will produce less honey
I want healthy bees more than honey, to me itâs like spending a lot of money on good flooring that you never have to take care of or cheap flooring that youâre always having to clean and buff and wax
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This is my first year and I used everyother frame as foundationless. When they want to draw, it seems they draw the foundationless faster than the foundation with wax on them. Just my observation so far.
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To add some additional follow-up to your comment about drawing out on plastic or foundation was.
My mentor has been very surprised on how quickly they have drawn out my foundationalist frames. Theyâve actually drawn out my foundationalist frames quicker then his foundation frames.
But letâs keep this in mind to hives sitting side-by-side can react totally differently then each other. Having exact same equipment in each. So saying foundation this frames with drawl out quicker is not necessarily the case
For purposes of new beekeepers, I donât think it really matters. As we get further into our beekeeping hobby/career we will find out what works best for us and in our area
There are some documentation out there that describes the benefits of each
this is what I meant, not that you were expecting honey for you r own purposes