Should the Flow super be removed Instagram post

Beekeeping - Basics Wintering your Flow Hive
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Not sure if anyone caught Flow’s post that shared a Flow Hive user in Canada with her flow super on over winter - I asked and @KieranPI replied that the flow super can be left on over winter. I sent a message to the actual beekeeper to see if I could get her feedback but have not heard anything back from her yet.

I feel like this has been discussed enough that we have concluded that leaving the super on when there is an extended dearth or cold/winter temperatures is not a good idea. The primary reasons being that the bees may:

  1. Apply excess propolis to the flow frames
  2. With the queen excluder removed, the queen may lay eggs in the flow super
  3. That the honey may crystallize.

Broad points, I know, but I wanted to make sure we were in agreement…

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I agree with all of those points. We have had multiple posts on the Flow forum over the years from people who have experienced exactly those problems.

:wink:

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The other thing I just noticed about that Instagram post is that the plastic queen excluder is still in place. :dizzy_face:

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Looks like there is a lot of propolis in there too. Lifting the Flow frames for inspection might be “interesting”! :astonished:

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So has anyone had an answer from this user? I am very keen to know her experience. I have absolutely no idea if I can trust to put the super on and leave it on here in Portugal. I see that Cedar leaves his on but it looks like his climate is around 4 degrees warmer year round. Having said that, the Iberian variety is known for its climate resilience. Shall I give it a go here in Portugal, just so that there can be some more experience of it in the forum?

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John, you might be okay to try it out with your milder winters, but I would ask a local ‘regular’ beekeeper if they would leave a QX in place over the colder months there. If they say no way, then it’s no go for the Flow.

Back to the Flow post and topic of this post. In Canada, there’s no doubt about cold winters and no sensible beek would use a QX then. I’m perplexed to hear that Flow seems unaware of these well-documented points and instead is encouraging something known to be a bad practice???

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