I am trying to confirm that only the European honey bee can use the flow hive? I heard it on one of the videos but I dont see it on the website or any of the advertising. Im asking because I am having a hard time finding a local seller for European honey bees. Mostly I’ve only seen Italian bee packages, Carniolan bee packages, Caucasian bee packages. Thank you!
Those are all European honey bee strains or subspecies and they will all work with the Flow hive. The usual honey bee species is Apis mellifera, and the subspecies name after that (e.g. Apis mellifera ligustica - Italian honey bee) is irrelevant. Any of them would work just fine, but for a beginner, I would suggest Italian.
The Flow hive can work with some other honey bee species, such as Apis cerana, but things can be a bit tricky, because the bees are slightly different in size. However, here in the US, you would find it very difficult to purchase any species of honey bee that wasn’t European. So you don’t need to worry. Have you joined a local bee club yet? They may even be able to supply you with some great bees!
Not yet. I have talked to 1 beekeeper at a farmers market and they gave me a local recommendation. Just trying to study and learn this year and plan to start up next year! Thank you for the information!