I will be trying beekeeping in 2021 thanks to analytics showing me these videos. We went from cow hoof trimming to Hobby farming, to collecting your own seeds and arrived at beekeeping😂
Its actualy interesting how you really explain it. You put yourself in the place of who's watching and you got the sensivity to ask what less informed people would ask and answer it, thats not easy to do man, and you did it perfectly.
Man it seems to me reading through the comments here that the bee community is a generally respectable one. I see no profanity, useless arguments, or even insult throwing. Your comment section on any of your videos are clear proof that what you are doing is not only fascinating but fun and pieceful to experience. Very glad I subscribed and hope you do well with your bees, fish, chickens, and whatever else you might have going on.
Hi Richie, that's an interesting observation and I'm glad it has been the case. Most of my angry posters are on my small pet cage videos and the haters are generally hamster owners around 13 years old. Also, my account is set up with filters, so if someone needs to communicate with profanity, the comment never posts in the first place. I welcome all observations and comments as long as they are helpful and civil. Welcome! :)
Our club is large and pretty mellow until someone pulled a fast one in the elections. They had a secret election where they nominated each other then voted each other in. After I saw what had happened and why I missed it...So done with that club. Nice people but they have a few worms in the barrel at the top.
HI Andrew, I'm so glad my videos have helped in your decision-making process. :) if you use the link in the video description, you'll receive a discount. Thanks for taking time to watch and comment :)
How interesting. I didn’t think the queen would be interested in Flow Frames. It was neat seeing how the bees so thoroughly cleaned out the candied honey.
Annnnnd, you're the 20th person to say that! It's a great compliment and thanks for comparing me with a happy painter :) I learned to paint from Bill Alexander... an old guy that did the wet-on-wet method before Bob, but everyone loved Bob's calm approach to life and he had lots of interesting pets :)
xvx4848 I KNOW! His voice is so soothing. I also like how he responds to so many posts. That must take a lot of time. That makes it feel very personal (or intimate?). THANKS FRED!
Thank you John and Leftist Smasher! I've pretty much done away with in-video titling and do narrations almost exclusively now just because of comments like yours. :)
I really appreciate how scientifically and methodically you approach things. I am really learning a lot! You also have great video quality. Thanks for another awesome video! 👍
Thank you for your well thought out and presented videos. I enjoy following you and appreciate the various approaches you have been taking with your bees and flow hives. Here in New Zealand we are just entering our first winter so the videos are always timely for what the next six months could look like. Much appreciated.
Hi Simon, it's great to be in touch with people in New Zealand! I have some wonderful friends there :) So glad you are enjoying the videos and I wish you all the best!
Since I'm just a wanna-bee-keeper and in love with the idea of the flow-hive, this was very informative. Though I'm waiting until next year (2018) to begin my colony, your channel and information are imperative to achieving success. I want the honey! So, I will be adding the queen-excluder. It hadn't occurred to me I'd have to remove any crystallized honey from the frames. It is great to learn vicariously through an experienced beekeeper. Thanks for this video. Smile :) & Be BRAVE!
So glad to give you some experience through your screen! It's such a nice compliment that you like what I share and are benefitting. I do hope that 2018 begins your beekeeping and honey collecting life :)
Guess who's going out to the beeyard with his queen excluded? This guy! Thanks for demonstrating the importance of this simple piece of plastic! I've built and added a moisture quilt box above my FlowHive super which includes a top entrance, so it sounds like I won't see a significant reduction in honey production.
Hi Chuck! I am so glad that you are doing that and it's the reason I wanted to get this information out quickly, so flow enthusiasts can get their queen excluders on before it's too late :) Those Moisture Quilt boxes are doing a great job, or at least they did this past winter! Have a great day!
Do you know if it is possible to buy a queen excluder for the 6 frame flow hive? My local store only sells US langstroth and on the Flow Hive website, they don’t sell them individually...
Hi Ariane, nice to hear from you again! You can just buy a plastic Queen Excluder and cut it to fit. You may also find them sold separately at the Flow website? BTW you make the BEST SOAPS EVER!! :)
Thanks Fred. Interesting observation. I've heard that when bees have no foundations to build on, the cell size can be smaller. As the flowframes are so much bigger (depth) you would imagine the bees would grow into the available space. Nature is wonderful. May you have a good and safe winter. Looking forward to the spring now. Cheers Gervase
That's an interesting thought and you're right, the honey bee cell size is made to bee-size, in that they measure with their body parts and construct accordingly. But the size of the bee itself is genetic and not dependent upon the available cell size if it's already constructed. For example, lots of honey bee development studies are conducted in labs under controlled conditions and in man-made glass cells that are nearly 3/8" in diameter in order to facilitate observation/documentation, those honey bees develop and complete their growth to the final stage at the same rate and with the same final physical proportion and size as dictated by their genes, not the cell physical space available. The one piece plastic frames such as Acorn waxed frames, are actually a tad smaller than those the bees would make on their own and the result is the same size workers emerge from those more crowded cell dimensions. Regarding if a bee will be a drone, worker or queen, the cell size must accomodate their adult/hatching dimensions, but the decision is made through diet alone as to what they will be. That's the real magic, the very idea that all eggs are the same, and workers can change physical development through diet alone!!! THAT just blows my mind! :)
Thank YOU..Very much for the education and the videos covering the flow hive design and start to finish including but not limited to the +s and -s... Love the way you care for your workers :)
You talked about keeping the queen out, I want to do only one tower like yours, but I don't want to hurt the honey or the queen from the flow hive part how do I keep her out of it..while I let the other boxes alone. And can I leave the other boxes alone for them to feed and breed from or do I need to maintain those also on a regular basis
@@FrederickDunn I will do that! I really appreciate your time and help. I'll keep you posted. I'm out on the beach/Bay don't want to attract too many bees to have the neighbors bothered but I really want to see how it works out.
would it be feasible to put a top entrance above the queen excluder under your flow frame so the worker bees would still have easy access to the flow frame but the queen would still be excluded
Hi Mark, yes, absolutely. I've had that configuration without a queen excluder on other hives and providing that upper entrance certainly does speed things along and still does the job of keeping the Queen where she belongs. Thank you for that suggestion, it's a good one!
It's actually better, though I've done both, to have the top entrance above the flowframes rather than beneath them. They haven't put any pollen stores in the flowframes "yet" as they generally pack cells with pollen around the brood down below. IF they do pack pollen in, I'll have to deal with that when the time comes. That's another video if they indeed to pack cells with bee-bread.
Frederick Dunn thanks for your Flow videos. Very in depth and informing. Also you maintain a non biased approach where others are trying to get you to love them or hate them.
Wow what a great Channel , Im a young guy interested with passion to get into beekeeping and hives , Cant wait to give it a go. Im 24 , from the U.K Thanks Fred
Hi Alexander, The losses across the United States were pretty bad throughout 2016 and early 2017. Reports are pretty much in and we definitely have a long way to go in improving the honey bee situation. We need resilient genetic lines and improved management practices. Just when we "think" we have things figured out, something new seems to set them back. Thanks for sharing.
Totally awesome Video just subbed. I only found out about these flow frames the other day! When I first seen a video I was like how the heck does that work haha So found your channel while searching info and people who use them. I think when I get mine I will take them off after late summer and swap it for a standard frame box and let them build their stores up for winter. We only harvest honey for 2-3 months of the year and the rest we leave to the bees. The result is super strong colonies. Thanks so much for uploading thie video and all the useful information.
Thanks for that great comment! I think your idea of removing the flow supers after the harvest is a good one and I also completely agree with under harvesting and leaving plenty for the colony to over winter with. Thanks for taking the time to share!
In your final scene at 15:48 a drone arrives, and two workers appear to be trying to persuade him to go elsewhere. With some success. Were they, or was he just in the way and they clambered over him?
The incoming foraging bees just tend to land on other bees from time to time, those weren't guard bees, so I think he was fine, just not going to get to be the first through the entrance :)
Good to Know. Did a split and removed the queen to new location. Placed flow hive on the new colony w/o queen. Colony has a lot of voltage. Hoping to have them wax close all the crannies. However, I still place a queen excluder. Thanks for the verification. Soon Ken
See you next week Ken :) I hope your split works out nicely. This will definitely be the spring of splits for many of us as you already know. Mike was out here with a couple of his splits trying to have his new queens mate with my drones and they both failed due to the entire week of rain we had. Lots to talk about, see you soon!
Good question Logan, I am evaluating the flowframes and determining how the bees do or don't use them and also the longevity of the mechanism. I'm not a commercial honey producer, my purpose is the documentation and observation of honeybee behavior. There were many articles written regarding how "bad" the flowhive would be for bees. This video is just one of many components that dispell those early detractor's negative claims. As of this year, I haven't found a better system/hive for honey removal that doesn't kill bees and requires the least amount of work on the part of the honeybees. Thanks for watching.
Love all your videos. Hooked on this channel now. At 6:57 there was a bee with what appeared to be almost reddish pollen on its' pollen sacks. Any Idea from what type of flower?
Hi Nate, thanks for watching and commenting, is that a Ford Tractor from the 60's as your profile? The first tractor I drove was pretty much like that one! AS for the cheeto orange pollen, that's from dandelions... the dandelion pollen is actually lighter in color, but because it's so dry, the bees mix it with saliva which deepens the orange as they groom it back to their hind legs. The pale colored pollen on the other workers is likely from willows.
Wow Fred that is so very cool! I've been consuming nothing but bee keeping content from your channel and others for weeks now and once I think I have a general grasp of the basics I think I'm finally gonna take the plunge into the world of keeping bees! Oh and my tractor (Henry) is a 1945 Ford 8N! So he's definitely seen a thing or two haha. He still runs today : )
There is so much I don't know about bee's and would love to learn about them, they are fascinating and we would have a hard time living with out them! Thank you for sharing! ;)
Thank you. I had heard or read that due to the extra deep cells the queen would not lay but did not take the chance. I use an excluder. But now that I KNOW that information was inaccurate I will pa your experience on to anyone else who might hold that misconception.
Hi His Child, there was a lot of speculation about the depth of the cells, I simply left these supers on without queen excluders on just to see what happened and I certainly got my answer. A cautionary tale for those who have seen and yet don't believe :)
Hi Mr Dunn. Would a second entrance, like in hive no. 3, and the queen excluder placed below, aid in having the flow frames filled faster? Perhaps just having a thin entrance section to serve just as entrance, without needing to fill that with short frames and doubt the queen would risk going outside just to lay eggs in the upper frames. I am guessing that your second entrance has frames serving as brood frames or reserve food/medicine. Thanks, love your videos
I guess hat blows the "bees don't like plastic" argument out of the water ;] To get rid of the brood you can just add a queen excluder and wait for the ones already in there to hatch correct, then drain as normal?
Thanks for asking this; it was the first thought I had, like couldn't we just exclude the queen and let them hatch. I was impressed to see how well they cleaned everything up. And, I'll check out the videos for another answers. It's nice to see that with some knowledge, common sense works!
Fred, do you think this happened due to her being honey bound? And I wonder if the bees will start storing pollen in the Flow frame so that it is near for the brood, if so - will that cause a problem?
I have deeps and my queens all lay in all 3 boxes. I had stacks of 4 for a while and they laid in that box also. Good queens will go up and lay in the top box. Once they hatch the bees back fill with honey.
I think any boxes left on through winter are going to be used for anything and everything by the bees. I'm not sure what you mean by "Good Queens", I have several very productive queens that don't lay in the upper supers at all, while others readily do.
Frederick Dunn I'm in south Florida and don't have a winter. I don't even really have a dearth. My queens have always laid in all the boxes. I had two that I just replaced because of meanness that laid solid in all 10 frames and all 4 deeps. If you wanted honey , which I do, you had to use a queen excluder. I guess to me a good queen means she lays solid everywhere because that's what I'm used to. I can't imagine a queen not laying in my top box without an excluder. I got 5 queens from Bill Carpenter recently, maybe his will be different.
Whether a queen will lay in all boxes indiscriminately or not depends on several factors. Heredity is one factor that is fixed unless you re-queen. How you manipulate your supers/frames (if at all) is another. A third major factor is how well you keep up with the flow and brood building. Say you start out with the queen in the bottom brood box. If that becomes mostly filled with brood, pollen and honey, then the queen will certainly move up to the second brood box. If that fills, the queen may move up or down. One thing I have noticed on a number of hives is that, once the queen moves up, she is reluctant to move down again. I generally manipulate my hives so the queens start the spring expansion in the bottom brood chamber. For a person with cold winters, the queen may end the winter in the top honey box left on the hive. If she is not moved down in early spring, she may well fill that top box with brood before moving down - usually to the box just below. If you are lucky, the bees will then fill that top super with honey, so the queen is again forced downward when that box just below the top is filled.
When you watch them in slow motion, they really are somewhat comical and not very accurate with their landing approach when loaded with pollen and nectar. Thanks for commenting :)
You can "leave it" but unless you pull the frames and make sure they clean the cells out, you run the risk of the bees just adding nectar to those open cells and you would still have the problem. That's why I pull them and set them out at a robbing station to make sure before replacing them on a colony. They certainly do the best job of prepping the cells :)
You seem very knowledgeable Mr. Dunn. I am attempting to learn as much as possible so I can start a business myself but wish to know as much as possible before purchasing any hives. I have about three acres I can plant in various flowers both wild seed and the garden variety bulbs and perennial bushes for them to feed on. I also plan for fruit trees in addition to an orchid house. Thanks for sharing what you know as it be a great help to me in the very near future. I live in a densely wooded area that grows more or less wild in southern Alabama with about six neighbors on a three mile long road. Very low population here which is nice. The temperatures here very rarely go below twenty degrees and that lasts for only a few days at a time and the temps go back up in winter to an average of 45 or so in jan and feb. My question is how many hives could I have in proximity to one another? There is no danger of neighbors being swarmed as the nearest one is about a thousand yards away maybe even a little further. The rest is just woods as far as you can see.
Hi Original Artworks, thanks for watching and commenting. Regarding the ability of an area to support a number of bee colonies in close proximity to one another, I don't believe you could possibly exhaust the available resources with your own apiary. These studies have been done in other countries and often in cities including New York. The honey bees are foraging for several miles in every direction and are of course in competition with other pollinators in your area. Setting up your bee yard, knowing that you are wanting to become a business, just try to plan based on wind shielding, dry ground, and accessibility for you in order to service the hives. If there are no other beekeepers within several miles of you, you're probably going be good to go and 200 hives on a half acre wouldn't be too many. Remember, you want them where you can easily work with the bees and even drive vehicles up to the hives. I hope you'll UA-cam your beginnings and share problems overcome and successes achieved with your Alabama bees! My best friend from High School was originally from Guntersville :)
Thank you for your video, i was wondering what would happen if you left the FLOW HIVE on all winter. I did have another question though. @ 14:21, what is that GUARD device and purpose?
Thanks, i did skim through your other videos, but I missed it. the newer ones with the random patterns look like they would do an excellent job. Added to my amazon wish list. I haven't gotten into bee keeping yet, but more than interested. Trying to meet up with a S NJ group to get more information, like if i can even have bees in my neighborhood.
Well, I did get a response from one of the local bee keepers and they told me that there were no additional requirements for keeping bees besides the NJ state requirements for registration. So I seem to be on my way. Any chance I can buy a nuc from ya next spring? I don't know if you even sell them but watching your videos I like how your bees behave.
Hi Thomas, that's great news that you can keep them. No, I don't sell bees I'm sorry to say, but you shouldn't have much of a problem finding a source.
There is always the possibility that pollen/bee-bread can end up in the flow-frames, but they most often store that adjacent to the brood cells an on the brood frames. If it does get into the flow super, the honey isn't ruined.
Thank you so much for your video's. I have learned so much from them. What size is the top entrance hole and could you explain how to set up a hive using the flow hive( on top) from the ground up and still leave enough honey for the bee's to winter out. I think some of new back yard bee keepers think they can take all the honey from the Flow Hive and then wonder why their hive died over the winter. Flow Hive only sends you two (2) deeps. One for a brood box and one for honey extraction. I have a flow hive and this is my first year but still would like to know how to set the hive up before my bee's come. Thank you so much.
You're right, the flowhive kit just has one deep and the second is the flow-super... they also now sell extra deep boxes for extra honey resources that are not taken. As a routine, I would not leave the flow-frames on through winter. I have other flowhive related videos which do show how I've setup the hive with extra honey supers above and below the flowsupers. I did both to see if bees would bypass the flow-super in favor of a medium standard body. You're so right, some people don't seem to realize that they need honey ON the hive through winter for the bees. The idea that they just have to put on food patties, fondant, heavy syrup etc... is in my opinion, flawed.
Thank you so much for the reply. As of now I have 2 deeps and a medium without a queen excluder, of course adding one at a time as they build out. The queen excluder will go on when I install the Flow Hive as you suggested. It's a shame that when I called our local bee association they where very nice until I mentioned the Flow Hive and he turned on me and started yelling at me on the phone. Thank god for your videos, again I have learned so much from you and feel confident I will succeed in taking care of my little girls because of them . We are a totally organic farm of just 20 acres and I think they will bee happy here. I would like to drill the top holes for another entrance into the hive will a 1 inch hole be enough? Thanks again
Wow, you have a beekeeping association member that "yelled at you" because of a flowhive? I will never understand that response and that is extremely poor representation for that association. Sure, there are people who don't want a flowhive, but a response like that is completely unwarranted. The top entrance hole I use is 3/4 of an inch. If you have a flowhive roof, that entrance can even be in the peak of the gabled roof front. I've been talking with the flow-peole about having more venting/entry options build into the cover face. Maybe we'll see some progress there soon. I'm sorry for the response you received from the beekeeper association... people like that have apparently stopped learning.
Thanks for the reply, keep the great videos coming. I'll keep you posted on the progress of the girls and I hope you don't mind answering a few questions when needed. By the way, it was the head of the association. I think he's just old and set in his ways, no worries. Thanks again.
No problem, I'm so glad you have that healthy attitude and of course, I am always happy to answer questions. The President of our State's Beekeeper Association is a personal friend and I can tell he's not necessarily "enthusiastic" about the FlowHive, but we always have a nice time exchanging ideas, experiences, and observations... :)
hi from Australia. quick question. i have seen several people have a second entrance to the top box. it looks like the bees struggle for landing rights. do you think a small purpose built landing board attached under top entrance would be of benefit? loved yr video and enjoyed reading yr comments and suggestions etc. thank you
Hi John, thanks for watching and commenting. The only reason I don't put a top entrance landing board is that when the boxes are stored, the landing board would be in the way. I do think it's worth experimenting with and It's something I've recommended to the FlowHive developers so the foragers don't have to pass through the queen excluder. Wishing you all the best!
Hi Fred, Do you think it would possible to use Ian Steppler's double brood box method, using the flow super ? Moving the queen down to the bottom box once the flow super is full of brood, then adding the excluder Sorry if you have been asked before Love your videos. Thank you
That does work, but the better practice is always to remove the flow-super for winter and then put it back on after the spring buildup has begun. You can also select the strongest colony to put the flow-super on for better results.
It's just a very busy access point, no robbing going on. We had a quick warm up and hive population is rapidly increasing. There are lots of environmental resources at the moment, so the risk of robbing is way down. Thanks for taking the time to watch closely, you never know when I may miss something! One pretty conspicuous difference between robbing and a crush at the entry point, is that they are loaded with resources and robbers don't bring groceries with them :)
HI Gregory, you're very welcome, that chicken is actually my own cross, they are part Astralorp, Part Rose Comb Bantom and Maylay. They are finally breeding true.
I'm conflicted about using the Queen Excluder. Wondering if leaving it off during high pollen/nectar times (summer) helps improve production of honey - but if leaving a filled Flow Hive on for a winter food source, I could then add the excluder to avoid egg cells etc. Would that approach work?
You should not leave the flow-frames on through winter with or without a queen excluder. This was only as a test and the final method is to leave a brood box (bottom box) have another deep or medium super on with honey (left for winter) then the Flow-Super above that which is removed after the late season nectar flow is finished.
@@FrederickDunn Would you consider or recommend putting an upper entrance directly into the Flow Hive Super so workers don't have to fight going through the Queen excluder? Saw your other responses but was unsure if you would have an entrance go straight into the FlowHive super itself.
@@MikeChamplin No, but I do recommend placing a shallow super on top of the flow-super with an upper entrance. It does really improve the efficiency of foraging bees :)
We open or reduce entrances based on colony strength, temps and the season. This is filmed in early spring when robing activity is usually high, so keeping the entrances somewhat small is to facilitate colony defense. When the numbers are UP, the reducers are opened up wide.
only about four times a year. BUT, if I need burr comb in order to melt it and put it on starter strips, I can get several pounds of beeswax just from scraping the frame edges in several hives. When I'm not making a video, I take more time and definitely scrape all the burr comb from the inner cover so that opening is easier.
Another excellent video. Well done! So the queen CAN lay in the flow frames. Interesting! I was wondering if she would be able to, given the depth and diameter. I measured the diameter of those cells to be 6.6mm. Are your dimensions the same? Of course, it's possible they waxed up the insides to reduce the diameter. If they don't reduce the diameter then those would be much larger bees, which would introduce a much greater mite problem to the hive. (Explaining this would require a deeper dive into honey bee biology that I don't want to get into in the comments here.) And the need for a queen excluder also reinforces the need to remove the Flow box before winter as queen excluders also need to come off for winter.
Hi BeeVlog, you're not alone in thinking that the queen would not have put her eggs in those cells. The cell dimensions in the flowframes remain unchanged since their original launch. I definitely recommend removal of the flow-super after the last harvest and simply allow surplus honey to remain in the lower boxes for wintering. You have equal chances that the brood produced in the flowframes will be drones or workers. In this flow-super, they were all workers and they are the same size as their hive mates. We have zero mites, or at least none detectable in this colony so far. These are varroa resistant hygienic bees which remove even developing bees from their cells and do a thorough cleaning if they detect any issue at all. Remember that I left some flow-supers ON while removing others. The solid lesson is not to leave then on in winter and you can set your removed frames out for the bees to clean up.
Cool vid. What the hell is producing that beautiful bright red pollen I saw a few workers carrying in?!?! That was pretty cool, don't think I've ever seen pure red pollen before, just white, yellow, light green and orange.
Hi Brent, right now, the reddish or dark yellow pollen is coming from our pear trees. The range of pollen colors is really fantastic this time of year. Some of the dark orange pollen is from dandelions, light yellow is from our apple trees, and the maple trees are ending their pollen phase, but that's the pale (almost white) yellow. :)
So what if I added a second brood box between the bottom box and the excluded (and full) flow super at the beginning of August? I panicked because I knew the queen would die if I didn't add another brood box below the super in time for them to fill it, which is why I did what I did. The workers immediately moved some of the stores down when I added the second brood box. I haven't checked to see the status of the second brood box. I had intended to leave the flow super on all winter, this being their first year. Do you think I should drain the flow super and take it off?
I can't believe he didn't answer your question! Yes, take your flow supers off, that's what Mr Dunn told us to do this year. He took his off for winter.
Hi Fred, after watching your later posted videos where you do not currently use a Queen excluder on any of your Flow boxes, I had decided not to use an excluder next year on my Flow box but then came across this video where the queen did get up to the flow frames to lay her eggs. Was this because you didn’t use a honey bridge (Medium Super) between the upper brood box and the flow frames as I believe you mention in some of your later videos? I like you am into beekeeping not for the honey (great bonus) but rather what I can learn about bees and becoming a better beekeeper. As you may have guessed I am going back through and watching all your posted videos on bee keeping and become more knowledgeable with every video I watch, thanks for posting such informative videos and being so open minded and following the science, not necessarily the considered “correct way”.
Thank you so much, Brad! I should discuss this during Friday's Q&A as many of the flow-users are down-under and in spring. Thank you for asking and I hope you'll watch on Friday and let me know if I've covered your concerns. :) And thank you for watching my videos as well as the excellent compliment :)
Question. Can you put two sets of frames into the hive? One normal frame-set right above the brood box and then a Queen Exluder and Flow-frame on top of it. So they can lay eggs in the frames and at the same time keep the Flow clean.
I have a question. Is there a reason the lower entrance spans the whole width of the hive, but the upper entrance is the size of a dime? It seems like it would be much better for the honey-gathering workers to have multiple of those entrances or something more like what's at the bottom to reduce the traffic jam up top.
That's a great question Hunter, upper entrances are prime robbing and raiding entrances also, so it's always advantageous to the bees to keep that somewhat "focused".
@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the quick and informative reply! Makes sense, if the honey is usually up top and the queen/attendants/brood are all down low, anything wanting a quick snack would try to go up top directly, like those yeller jackets you mentioned in the other video that keep getting into your jars.
Yellow jackets can zip right in there with ease when the mornings are particularly cold. Feral bees always place their honey stores far from the entrance and brood is near the entrance, we mess that order up a little with upper entrances.
Hi Fred, Since you said that installing the queen excluder below the flow super slows down the workers from filling it with honey, what would you say to putting a second entrance directly into the flow box? If the queen stays in the bottom and the workers can access the top directly, won't the process possibly go faster? Thanks
Foragers would definitely have a clear and direct route to the Flow-Super, but many workers that do cell maintenance and cleaning would not have access through the queen excluder. Beekeepers count on enough workers being able to make it through the excluder to accomplish those tasks. So yes to foragers, not so much for bees performing interior jobs.
So.. a person has to open and clean their hive like every spring? or how often? I was thinking of trying to have honey bee's, but would they do okay in like the state of NV? where it gets hot and dry? also.. does a person need flowers and such growing close by or would the bees travel to find and bring it back?
A healthy and well-populated hive of bees generally cleans itself. You do open the hive to inspect the colony and directly view brood, gee production, the queen and general interior conditions. As for doing well in NV, I can't answer that question as the environment definitely does have to provide resources for the honey bees. Flowering plants that also generate nectar would be critical to the bees. No doubt that summer high heat conditions would be a factor as the bees use a lot of water to cool the hive interior. I'd take a serious look at any bees that already exist there and would seek out beekeepers that would share their challenges and successes with you. Not every environment is suited to honey beekeeping. Bees will travel 3 miles and in some cases even greater distances to obtain resources. The closer the resources, the easier on the bees. I hope that helps?
Great video thank you: Live in Orlando have two 8 frame brood boxes that are doing well. Used the metal queen excluder under my flow hive and got very little activity in the Flow Hive and it became a safe place for the hive beetles to become a problem. So took out the queen excluder and the bees exploded into the Flow Hive and the queen is now laying up there just as in your video. Good news beetle population is now hardly an issue. Any thoughts on what to do with this now very expensive brood box?
By midsummer, the queen in my hive descended to the lower boxes and after the hatch, the workers returned the flowframes to honey storage use. It took several weeks but is functioning normally and I didn't clean it out myself. In your case, if you can make sure the queen is out of the flowframes, put that queen excluder in under the flowframes and allow the current brood to hatch and the bees will clean everything up for you. After that, just keep the queen excluder in and don't forget to remove them for winter. We don't have small hive beetles here "yet" so I haven't faced that problem. I wish you all the best.
Thanks for the quick reply. This is my first year so finding the queen is still a challenge. Question: Here in florida we do sugar syrup feeding during the winter months. Would you feed on top of the flow hive when it comes feeding time?
Back when I did feed the bees in winter, I used those polystyrene hive top feeders and they worked really well, plus you could remove the hive cover to fill the feeder without exposing the bees to cold temps... I'll find a link to the type I used... www.betterbee.com/feeders/BHTF.asp
Hi John, if you have the extra money and don't mind the cost, go ahead and start off with a full flowhive system. BUT, if you're not sure you want to manage honey bees and are just sort of testing the water, I suggest getting a standard Langstroth kit and learning about the bees first. I also currently recommend using Acorn Heavy Waxed frames for starting off. Later on you can intermix wooden frames with or without foundation once your bees get going and are secure. I hope that helps get your thought wheels going :)
Hey Frederick, why don’t you put a landingboard on the upper entrance. Would it make sense to put another hole to the upper entrance to get more traffic through and a little landing board too? The smaller part or box on your hive is just a spare one to provide more space for the bees? And what about Varoa and the checking and counting for that. How do you do that with the flow hives? For this year it would be to late for me to start but next year I want to set up my own bees now that I would have enough time and space. So for the cold season you leave the flows in the hive for providing them with enough food?
Hi Stefan, varroa counting is the same as with other hives, just scoop the nurse bees off of the brood frames and proceed. I will do some varroa testing this summer as I have a kit to demonstrate. A tiny upper landing board may help a little, but it's very rare that they have a traffic jam there and I don't want to give wasps a landing spot for their hunting. I think I've seen others use upper landing boards, but I can't remember the specific video at the moment. This year I'm using feeder shims that have controllable upper entrance holes so I will no longer be putting entrance holes in the upper super boxes.
Hi Fred. Maybe you could give me some advice? I also kept the flow super on overwinter. It’s been around 8-10 Celsius and the bees have been out. I’m in zone 8a. I was thinking of removing the flow super today if they haven’t started using the resources. Should I proceed? Peace. ✌️
I wouldn't leave flow-supers on for winter, other than for testing purposes. Yes, if you get a nice warm day, I would remove it until they have completed their spring build up.
Just a thought. I don't use queen excluders either. I also am way to cheap to buy a flow hive. I make my own foundation less frames so I don't have to buy foundation. The reason you have brood in your flow frames is because over the winter your bees moved up the hive as they used their stores. Then spring came and she started laying. Take the flow hive off in the winter and chances are you won't have brood in the flow hive without and excluder.
Another question or thoughts...some of the beekeepers claim and do it for sure as well that they use normal box as spare box under the brood box to prevent early swarming. The say it gives the option to make a certain „wild building“ area where there would be so much space that the bees start to build theses hanging combs like in nature with honey and brood an that they would start to hang out there as huge flocks so to say in GermanEnglish. This should calm them down and prevent for a certain extend swarming...what do you do preventing the bees therefore?
@Frederick Dunn , Wouldn't placing a queen excluder on the top and below the Flow Hive box produce a better effect for honey production if that is your aim? Obviously, a shallow box on the top where bees can enter. Or would this potentially lead to the queen moving outside and walk up to the top to circumvent the queen excluder which leads to a potential risk of losing the queen?
That's interesting, I've never observed a queen walking up the outside, but anything is of course possible. I think just take the flowsuper off for winter and you'll be fine, I'm still "personally" not in favor of using queen excluders, but I realize that it is the "safe" method.
Well, Safe method is always the best method if you are a beginner and can't keep an eye on the Apiary every day or often enough due other commitments. I figured if you have an entrance on top and at the bottom of the hive box. It might lead to better honey production since they do not need to walk through the whole hive. Another idea would be to build two shallow boxes. Then permanently attach a queen excluder to the bottom of the top box. On the top of the bottom box. Then route out some slots along the sides of the two shallow boxes. Then a flat sheet of plywood attached to the outsides just above the slot and then make a tunnel to the above box. Essentially a Bridge to the top shallow box. Allowing the queen to lay eggs in the top box if she fancies without leaving the risk of her leaving the hive. Then between the two queen excluder's you have the flow hive. The result is that it will be a pain to get loose but I reckon, if the top box just have six screws loosely driven into the wood so it rests into position on the 'tunnel/bridge'. Without hampering the slot. One should be able to loosen it easier. Of course, this is just complicating an Apiary process more than necessary but if one fancy exploring the idea of testing out ways to grow a big hive without hampering its honey production. I have an absurd theory that probably every Beekeeper will shun. But, in Ant communities they tend to have polygamous colony, if the space is enough. But if it is a small Ant colony, they will shun/get rid of excess queens. So essentially, if you can cultivate a hive somehow into a Mega hive, it should become a polygamy hive. But I reckon they would rather swarm than have a Sub-Queen. As I said, I can easily write up theories. IF they are practical or not, well... That is another story.
You are correct, the upper entrances do speed the delivery of nectar from the foraging bees directly to the supers. You may notice in several of my videos, there is more traffic at the upper entrances than the landing board, so the bees do use it. Thanks again!
Dumb question: Once the Flow frames have been used for brood, can you then add a queen excluder? My question is after the brood is hatched, will the bees go back to using the formerly brood frames to store honey?
Yes, as part of their normal annual behavioral routine, the queen simply descends back down to the lower boxes and continues laying there. The brood that is in the flow-frames simply hatches out and they go to work cleaning the frames. With no new eggs being laid in the flow-frames, they simply begin using the flow-frames for honey once again and they can be cycled for honey extraction as before. I pulled a couple of these frames as educational tools.
With your upper entrances, how do you use that super handle with bees coming and going? Even after smoking, I would think you'd have traffic that would prevent you from using the handle.
Hi Dave, that's an interesting question and you're the first to ask it! There are handle cutouts on all four sides, so I generally just grab the box on the side handles rather than the front and back. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I live in Upper Michigan. How do I give my bees enough honey to make it through the winter as I have to keep a super on but have to have a queen excluder. Wouldn't my bees move up and leave the queen to die in the brood boxes?
You should never leave a queen excluder on as fall and winter arrive. Your bees need to be able to move up into their honey super through winter. If you are using Flow-Hives there, you'll need a complete deep brood box, AND a medium honey super that is full of honey before you put your flow-super on. Then you remove the flow-super for winter, leaving all of the honey in those lower two boxes for the bees to winter on. Also it's critical to have an insulated inner cover on for wintering so they can maintain a heat capsule above the winter cluster without the threat of condensation forming above the bees. In upper Michigan, I'd look at insulating your hives around and on that top box at a minimum.
@@FrederickDunn ok thx. I wasn’t going to leave the excluder on. I probably worded the question wrong. I have two brood boxes. We had a great spring here and a local beekeeper told me to expand. So my brood boxes will get my bees through winter? I didn’t know if I was supposed to leave a super on after removing the excluder.
Not a dumb question at all, it's a deterrent for bears. Flashing lights make bears think twice about what that "blinking" is and they avoid the area. It only works if they have not already raided your hives. They are called predator guard.. here is a link to a review I did on them: ua-cam.com/video/8JiKdi0NF_8/v-deo.html
Hi Chick Hosmer (btw, I have a cedar canvas canoe called the Hosmer Queen) the old solidified honey is generally just used up by the bees as they generate heat for the hive and brood. If they aren't given access to the old honey early in the season, or during a dearth, they will ignore it altogether and consume what is brought in fresh with a new nectar flow. Thank you for that question! They are in the habit of moving "unripe" honey around the comb at night, you'll see cells getting filled all over the place during the day as foraging bees bring it in at a fast pace, then at night, the interior house-keeping bees will actually move it towards the center of the frames and reorganize. They may also move the nectar (unripe honey) around the brood alongside pollen stores for ready access by the maternity bees :) That is a topic unto itself!
Frederick Dunn Fantastic reply, thank you so mush for taking the time for this explanation. Just curious how you came up with the name for your canoe .
It was constructed by Horace Strong in Craftsbury Vermont and he named several of his canoe designs after Little Hosmer Pond. My family owned a farm less than a quarter mile from that pond and I spent years playing there. There is Little Hosmer and Big Hosmer.. and now you have "the rest of the story" :)
Huh, so if you were inclined, you could have an entirely synthetic hive structure to start your bees in? Would this help counteract the pests and parasites that tend to eat the comb?
I knew it was just a matter of time before someone mentioned that. Yes, you "could" have entirely synthetic brood cells/comb, but I think that naturally drawn out bees wax comb is best for the bees. I think, personally, that it's enough that we are using plastic foundation, but it is "possible".
it's 4am and i'm watching 20min long bee videos
what has become of my life
Not much....Welcome..
😆 me too
You are alive and vital.
I will be trying beekeeping in 2021 thanks to analytics showing me these videos. We went from cow hoof trimming to Hobby farming, to collecting your own seeds and arrived at beekeeping😂
Its actualy interesting how you really explain it. You put yourself in the place of who's watching and you got the sensivity to ask what less informed people would ask and answer it, thats not easy to do man, and you did it perfectly.
Man it seems to me reading through the comments here that the bee community is a generally respectable one. I see no profanity, useless arguments, or even insult throwing. Your comment section on any of your videos are clear proof that what you are doing is not only fascinating but fun and pieceful to experience. Very glad I subscribed and hope you do well with your bees, fish, chickens, and whatever else you might have going on.
Hi Richie, that's an interesting observation and I'm glad it has been the case. Most of my angry posters are on my small pet cage videos and the haters are generally hamster owners around 13 years old. Also, my account is set up with filters, so if someone needs to communicate with profanity, the comment never posts in the first place. I welcome all observations and comments as long as they are helpful and civil. Welcome! :)
Our club is large and pretty mellow until someone pulled a fast one in the elections. They had a secret election where they nominated each other then voted each other in. After I saw what had happened and why I missed it...So done with that club. Nice people but they have a few worms in the barrel at the top.
@Ed Gein oh my😊
people who love animals/nature and working with them especially are usually the nicest people you'll come across.
its 2:25 am right now and i can't stop falling asleep to this video because his voice is calming and majestic
I have been keeping bees now for two years and watching your videos on flow Hive has convinced me to get a couple to expand
HI Andrew, I'm so glad my videos have helped in your decision-making process. :) if you use the link in the video description, you'll receive a discount. Thanks for taking time to watch and comment :)
How interesting. I didn’t think the queen would be interested in Flow Frames.
It was neat seeing how the bees so thoroughly cleaned out the candied honey.
U have a great voice to be doing these types of commentaries; very calm & articulate
Thank you so much Adam, I really appreciate that!
Second you.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps many of us novices move forward with confidence.
Chas Greenway
You are more than welcome, thanks for watching and sharing your comment.
A clean careful souce of bee husbandry. Thank you from one who gets vicarious experience from elderly housing
Added: prohibitive rules housing authority
that bright red and orange pollen looks really cool!
Oh what a blessing stumbling on this channel today! This video just made my day
thank you so much and welcome!
This guy is like the Bob Ross of bee keeping lol
Annnnnd, you're the 20th person to say that! It's a great compliment and thanks for comparing me with a happy painter :) I learned to paint from Bill Alexander... an old guy that did the wet-on-wet method before Bob, but everyone loved Bob's calm approach to life and he had lots of interesting pets :)
xvx4848 I KNOW! His voice is so soothing. I also like how he responds to so many posts. That must take a lot of time. That makes it feel very personal (or intimate?). THANKS FRED!
It's definitely a compliment. Most people have voices that are difficult to listen to for an extended period of time....
Thank you John and Leftist Smasher! I've pretty much done away with in-video titling and do narrations almost exclusively now just because of comments like yours. :)
lol right.... he's also using a bineural microphone
4:40 Bees are like, "Did that guy just build a new level to our house?"
Ha. Ha. Ha
I have chickens too and I am getting a bee hive next year trying to engulf myself in knowledge thanks for the educational video.
Thanks for the ongoing support and awareness,great work,Fred!
Hi Rebecca, thank you so much! and you're very welcome!
I really appreciate how scientifically and methodically you approach things. I am really learning a lot! You also have great video quality. Thanks for another awesome video! 👍
Thank you so much and what a nice comment! I do my best :)
Nature's Cadence Farm
_You name stealer_
Thank you for your well thought out and presented videos. I enjoy following you and appreciate the various approaches you have been taking with your bees and flow hives. Here in New Zealand we are just entering our first winter so the videos are always timely for what the next six months could look like. Much appreciated.
Hi Simon, it's great to be in touch with people in New Zealand! I have some wonderful friends there :) So glad you are enjoying the videos and I wish you all the best!
Another nice bee video, Fred. Thanks for all of the info!
You are VERY welcome!
I will be getting me first bee next Tuesday. Thank you for your insight into bee keeping. Keep up the videos
Thank you and I hope you have a great experience with honey bees.
Since I'm just a wanna-bee-keeper and in love with the idea of the flow-hive, this was very informative. Though I'm waiting until next year (2018) to begin my colony, your channel and information are imperative to achieving success. I want the honey! So, I will be adding the queen-excluder. It hadn't occurred to me I'd have to remove any crystallized honey from the frames. It is great to learn vicariously through an experienced beekeeper. Thanks for this video. Smile :) & Be BRAVE!
So glad to give you some experience through your screen! It's such a nice compliment that you like what I share and are benefitting. I do hope that 2018 begins your beekeeping and honey collecting life :)
Thank you so much for answering my question. You are very knowledgeable. I love learning new things. it helps me feel young.
You are very welcome Colleen!
Can I just say beautiful footage, watching those bees fly in and move about. Just calming
Hi Diann, thank you so much, you're not alone, I would spend hours a day just watching honey bees doing what they do :)
Guess who's going out to the beeyard with his queen excluded? This guy! Thanks for demonstrating the importance of this simple piece of plastic!
I've built and added a moisture quilt box above my FlowHive super which includes a top entrance, so it sounds like I won't see a significant reduction in honey production.
Hi Chuck! I am so glad that you are doing that and it's the reason I wanted to get this information out quickly, so flow enthusiasts can get their queen excluders on before it's too late :) Those Moisture Quilt boxes are doing a great job, or at least they did this past winter! Have a great day!
Fascinating, and beautifully presented. Thank you
Love seeing that red pollen at around 6:51. Beautiful.
Me too!
Do you know if it is possible to buy a queen excluder for the 6 frame flow hive? My local store only sells US langstroth and on the Flow Hive website, they don’t sell them individually...
Hi Ariane, nice to hear from you again! You can just buy a plastic Queen Excluder and cut it to fit. You may also find them sold separately at the Flow website? BTW you make the BEST SOAPS EVER!! :)
Thanks Fred. Interesting observation. I've heard that when bees have no foundations to build on, the cell size can be smaller. As the flowframes are so much bigger (depth) you would imagine the bees would grow into the available space. Nature is wonderful. May you have a good and safe winter. Looking forward to the spring now. Cheers Gervase
That's an interesting thought and you're right, the honey bee cell size is made to bee-size, in that they measure with their body parts and construct accordingly. But the size of the bee itself is genetic and not dependent upon the available cell size if it's already constructed. For example, lots of honey bee development studies are conducted in labs under controlled conditions and in man-made glass cells that are nearly 3/8" in diameter in order to facilitate observation/documentation, those honey bees develop and complete their growth to the final stage at the same rate and with the same final physical proportion and size as dictated by their genes, not the cell physical space available. The one piece plastic frames such as Acorn waxed frames, are actually a tad smaller than those the bees would make on their own and the result is the same size workers emerge from those more crowded cell dimensions. Regarding if a bee will be a drone, worker or queen, the cell size must accomodate their adult/hatching dimensions, but the decision is made through diet alone as to what they will be. That's the real magic, the very idea that all eggs are the same, and workers can change physical development through diet alone!!! THAT just blows my mind! :)
Thank YOU..Very much for the education and the videos covering the flow hive design and start to finish including but not limited to the +s and -s... Love the way you care for your workers :)
You talked about keeping the queen out, I want to do only one tower like yours, but I don't want to hurt the honey or the queen from the flow hive part how do I keep her out of it..while I let the other boxes alone. And can I leave the other boxes alone for them to feed and breed from or do I need to maintain those also on a regular basis
Just put the deep brood box first, then add a medium or deep super and then add the queen excluder prior to putting the Flow-Super on.
@@FrederickDunn I will do that! I really appreciate your time and help. I'll keep you posted. I'm out on the beach/Bay don't want to attract too many bees to have the neighbors bothered but I really want to see how it works out.
Thanks for the video Frederick. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Darren
Thanks Fred, your videos always prove to be invaluable. I learn so many things from you.
Thank you so much Man from Epsilon! :)
Been waiting all winter for your hive updates, very interesting. Thanks!
Thank you and I hope it was worth the wait, much appreciated!
would it be feasible to put a top entrance above the queen excluder under your flow frame so the worker bees would still have easy access to the flow frame but the queen would still be excluded
Hi Mark, yes, absolutely. I've had that configuration without a queen excluder on other hives and providing that upper entrance certainly does speed things along and still does the job of keeping the Queen where she belongs. Thank you for that suggestion, it's a good one!
Also thinking of putting an entrance above the excluder. What is the chance they start packing pollen into the flow frames?
It's actually better, though I've done both, to have the top entrance above the flowframes rather than beneath them. They haven't put any pollen stores in the flowframes "yet" as they generally pack cells with pollen around the brood down below. IF they do pack pollen in, I'll have to deal with that when the time comes. That's another video if they indeed to pack cells with bee-bread.
Frederick Dunn thanks for your Flow videos. Very in depth and informing. Also you maintain a non biased approach where others are trying to get you to love them or hate them.
Thank you opman711, when we lose our objectivity, we fail to learn and grow :) I do appreciate your comment.
Wow what a great Channel , Im a young guy interested with passion to get into beekeeping and hives , Cant wait to give it a go. Im 24 , from the U.K
Thanks Fred
For more details about bee hives product pls feel free to contact on +919770243816
Hey Frederick,
Thanks for the videos. We had a really bad year in Oregon too some estimates are upwards of 75-80% losses
That's Terrible!!!!!! Any ideas what caused that?
Hi Alexander, The losses across the United States were pretty bad throughout 2016 and early 2017. Reports are pretty much in and we definitely have a long way to go in improving the honey bee situation. We need resilient genetic lines and improved management practices. Just when we "think" we have things figured out, something new seems to set them back. Thanks for sharing.
Your videos are very informative and easy to watch and listen to. Thank you!
Thank you so much Holly!
Totally awesome Video just subbed. I only found out about these flow frames the other day! When I first seen a video I was like how the heck does that work haha So found your channel while searching info and people who use them. I think when I get mine I will take them off after late summer and swap it for a standard frame box and let them build their stores up for winter. We only harvest honey for 2-3 months of the year and the rest we leave to the bees. The result is super strong colonies. Thanks so much for uploading thie video and all the useful information.
Thanks for that great comment! I think your idea of removing the flow supers after the harvest is a good one and I also completely agree with under harvesting and leaving plenty for the colony to over winter with. Thanks for taking the time to share!
In your final scene at 15:48 a drone arrives, and two workers appear to be trying to persuade him to go elsewhere. With some success. Were they, or was he just in the way and they clambered over him?
Yes, inside the hive, drones are just in the way and always begging meals from the workers as drones don't feed themselves.
If he had been an intruder from another colony, they would have latched onto him until he fell off completely.
The incoming foraging bees just tend to land on other bees from time to time, those weren't guard bees, so I think he was fine, just not going to get to be the first through the entrance :)
Good to Know. Did a split and removed the queen to new location. Placed flow hive on the new colony w/o queen. Colony has a lot of voltage. Hoping to have them wax close all the crannies. However, I still place a queen excluder. Thanks for the verification. Soon Ken
See you next week Ken :) I hope your split works out nicely. This will definitely be the spring of splits for many of us as you already know. Mike was out here with a couple of his splits trying to have his new queens mate with my drones and they both failed due to the entire week of rain we had. Lots to talk about, see you soon!
12:37 Why would you have flow frames if you’re not in it for the honey...
Good question Logan, I am evaluating the flowframes and determining how the bees do or don't use them and also the longevity of the mechanism. I'm not a commercial honey producer, my purpose is the documentation and observation of honeybee behavior. There were many articles written regarding how "bad" the flowhive would be for bees. This video is just one of many components that dispell those early detractor's negative claims. As of this year, I haven't found a better system/hive for honey removal that doesn't kill bees and requires the least amount of work on the part of the honeybees. Thanks for watching.
Great video, I learned more about flow frames than I ever had. Thanks Fred.
You're welcome Julie.. and thanks again :)
Love all your videos. Hooked on this channel now. At 6:57 there was a bee with what appeared to be almost reddish pollen on its' pollen sacks. Any Idea from what type of flower?
Hi Nate, thanks for watching and commenting, is that a Ford Tractor from the 60's as your profile? The first tractor I drove was pretty much like that one! AS for the cheeto orange pollen, that's from dandelions... the dandelion pollen is actually lighter in color, but because it's so dry, the bees mix it with saliva which deepens the orange as they groom it back to their hind legs. The pale colored pollen on the other workers is likely from willows.
Wow Fred that is so very cool! I've been consuming nothing but bee
keeping content from your channel and others for weeks now and once I think I have a general grasp of the basics I think I'm finally gonna take the plunge into the world of keeping bees! Oh and my tractor (Henry) is a 1945 Ford 8N! So he's definitely seen a thing or two haha. He still runs today : )
I like that you named your Ford "Henry" :) pretty unstoppable I guess. I hope you do get bees some day, you'll wonder why you waited!
Thanks for all your videos on this product!
Hi Patrick, you are very welcome, happy to share as I go :)
I don't understand anything, I just like listening to the voices of beekeepers.
Interesting...
Great voice.
Thank you! What a nice thing to say :)
No problem, it's very soothing. Helped me calm down some stress. Thanks.
There is so much I don't know about bee's and would love to learn about them, they are fascinating and we would have a hard time living with out them! Thank you for sharing! ;)
You're welcome Theresa and no matter how long you observe them, there always seems to be something new. :)
I know its probably a bit late but can you tell me what is the red and the orange pollen on the bee's that appears at 6:50. cheers
Dandelion pollen, it gets much darker on their legs as they ammend it with nectar.
Thank you. I had heard or read that due to the extra deep cells the queen would not lay but did not take the chance. I use an excluder. But now that I KNOW that information was inaccurate I will pa your experience on to anyone else who might hold that misconception.
Hi His Child, there was a lot of speculation about the depth of the cells, I simply left these supers on without queen excluders on just to see what happened and I certainly got my answer. A cautionary tale for those who have seen and yet don't believe :)
Thanks, you provide GREAT information for us home bee keepers - Richard - Sacramento CA
HI Richard, thank you so much for sharing that you found it helpful :) I hope things are going well there in Sacramento!
Hi Mr Dunn. Would a second entrance, like in hive no. 3, and the queen excluder placed below, aid in having the flow frames filled faster? Perhaps just having a thin entrance section to serve just as entrance, without needing to fill that with short frames and doubt the queen would risk going outside just to lay eggs in the upper frames. I am guessing that your second entrance has frames serving as brood frames or reserve food/medicine. Thanks, love your videos
Yes, upper entrances do result in flow-frames being filled faster.
@@FrederickDunn Much appreciated, good sir.
I guess hat blows the "bees don't like plastic" argument out of the water ;] To get rid of the brood you can just add a queen excluder and wait for the ones already in there to hatch correct, then drain as normal?
Yes, just getting the queen out, putting the excluder in and they clean it up and you're back in service for honey.
Nice ;]
Thanks for asking this; it was the first thought I had, like couldn't we just exclude the queen and let them hatch. I was impressed to see how well they cleaned everything up. And, I'll check out the videos for another answers. It's nice to see that with some knowledge, common sense works!
Fred, do you think this happened due to her being honey bound? And I wonder if the bees will start storing pollen in the Flow frame so that it is near for the brood, if so - will that cause a problem?
Glad you didn't just pressure wash out the brood. Very decent of you.
Oh no, I'd never do that, the pressure washing option was only regarding the solidified honey in the cells, not the brood.
I have deeps and my queens all lay in all 3 boxes. I had stacks of 4 for a while and they laid in that box also. Good queens will go up and lay in the top box. Once they hatch the bees back fill with honey.
I think any boxes left on through winter are going to be used for anything and everything by the bees. I'm not sure what you mean by "Good Queens", I have several very productive queens that don't lay in the upper supers at all, while others readily do.
Frederick Dunn I'm in south Florida and don't have a winter. I don't even really have a dearth. My queens have always laid in all the boxes. I had two that I just replaced because of meanness that laid solid in all 10 frames and all 4 deeps. If you wanted honey , which I do, you had to use a queen excluder. I guess to me a good queen means she lays solid everywhere because that's what I'm used to. I can't imagine a queen not laying in my top box without an excluder. I got 5 queens from Bill Carpenter recently, maybe his will be different.
Whether a queen will lay in all boxes indiscriminately or not depends on several factors. Heredity is one factor that is fixed unless you re-queen.
How you manipulate your supers/frames (if at all) is another. A third major factor is how well you keep up with the flow and brood building.
Say you start out with the queen in the bottom brood box. If that becomes mostly filled with brood, pollen and honey, then the queen will certainly move up to the second brood box. If that fills, the queen may move up or down.
One thing I have noticed on a number of hives is that, once the queen moves up, she is reluctant to move down again. I generally manipulate my hives so the queens start the spring expansion in the bottom brood chamber.
For a person with cold winters, the queen may end the winter in the top honey box left on the hive. If she is not moved down in early spring, she may well fill that top box with brood before moving down - usually to the box just below. If you are lucky, the bees will then fill that top super with honey, so the queen is again forced downward when that box just below the top is filled.
Thank you for sharing, Fred! Great video and great information.I do hope you will share a follow-up on this season's brood in the FlowHive.
Will do, thanks so much!
15:28 If you look closely, a bee lands atop another bee and they both fall down XD
When you watch them in slow motion, they really are somewhat comical and not very accurate with their landing approach when loaded with pollen and nectar. Thanks for commenting :)
Hi, I left this cristallized honey, and the bees cleaned it as soon as spring was hot enough :-)
You can "leave it" but unless you pull the frames and make sure they clean the cells out, you run the risk of the bees just adding nectar to those open cells and you would still have the problem. That's why I pull them and set them out at a robbing station to make sure before replacing them on a colony. They certainly do the best job of prepping the cells :)
You seem very knowledgeable Mr. Dunn. I am attempting to learn as much as possible so I can start a business myself but wish to know as much as possible before purchasing any hives. I have about three acres I can plant in various flowers both wild seed and the garden variety bulbs and perennial bushes for them to feed on. I also plan for fruit trees in addition to an orchid house. Thanks for sharing what you know as it be a great help to me in the very near future. I live in a densely wooded area that grows more or less wild in southern Alabama with about six neighbors on a three mile long road. Very low population here which is nice. The temperatures here very rarely go below twenty degrees and that lasts for only a few days at a time and the temps go back up in winter to an average of 45 or so in jan and feb. My question is how many hives could I have in proximity to one another? There is no danger of neighbors being swarmed as the nearest one is about a thousand yards away maybe even a little further. The rest is just woods as far as you can see.
Hi Original Artworks, thanks for watching and commenting. Regarding the ability of an area to support a number of bee colonies in close proximity to one another, I don't believe you could possibly exhaust the available resources with your own apiary. These studies have been done in other countries and often in cities including New York. The honey bees are foraging for several miles in every direction and are of course in competition with other pollinators in your area. Setting up your bee yard, knowing that you are wanting to become a business, just try to plan based on wind shielding, dry ground, and accessibility for you in order to service the hives. If there are no other beekeepers within several miles of you, you're probably going be good to go and 200 hives on a half acre wouldn't be too many. Remember, you want them where you can easily work with the bees and even drive vehicles up to the hives. I hope you'll UA-cam your beginnings and share problems overcome and successes achieved with your Alabama bees! My best friend from High School was originally from Guntersville :)
Thanks for the advice. There are actually TONS of wildflowers in all directions. Will consider the youtube video as you suggest:)
Like watching the after picture of the bees stealing cheetos and cornpuffs with those bright yellow and deep orange pollen baskets.
Bee Leg warmers
Thank you for your video, i was wondering what would happen if you left the FLOW HIVE on all winter.
I did have another question though. @ 14:21, what is that GUARD device and purpose?
Thanks Thomas, that question is easier explained with another video :) ua-cam.com/video/8JiKdi0NF_8/v-deo.html
Thanks, i did skim through your other videos, but I missed it. the newer ones with the random patterns look like they would do an excellent job. Added to my amazon wish list.
I haven't gotten into bee keeping yet, but more than interested. Trying to meet up with a S NJ group to get more information, like if i can even have bees in my neighborhood.
I hope it turns out that you are in a bee friendly community!
Well, I did get a response from one of the local bee keepers and they told me that there were no additional requirements for keeping bees besides the NJ state requirements for registration. So I seem to be on my way. Any chance I can buy a nuc from ya next spring? I don't know if you even sell them but watching your videos I like how your bees behave.
Hi Thomas, that's great news that you can keep them. No, I don't sell bees I'm sorry to say, but you shouldn't have much of a problem finding a source.
Your video is extremely relaxing. Thank you for the info and helping me de stress lol
Thank you Galynn and you're very welcome :)
Love your videos. What stops bread being placed in the super?
There is always the possibility that pollen/bee-bread can end up in the flow-frames, but they most often store that adjacent to the brood cells an on the brood frames. If it does get into the flow super, the honey isn't ruined.
@@FrederickDunn Thank you
Thank you so much for your video's. I have learned so much from them. What size is the top entrance hole and could you explain
how to set up a hive using the flow hive( on top) from the ground up and still leave enough honey for the bee's to winter out. I think some of new back yard bee keepers think they can take all the honey from the Flow Hive and then wonder why their hive died over the winter. Flow Hive only sends you two (2) deeps. One for a brood box and one for honey extraction. I have a flow hive and this is my first year but still would like to know how to set the hive up before my bee's come. Thank you so much.
You're right, the flowhive kit just has one deep and the second is the flow-super... they also now sell extra deep boxes for extra honey resources that are not taken. As a routine, I would not leave the flow-frames on through winter. I have other flowhive related videos which do show how I've setup the hive with extra honey supers above and below the flowsupers. I did both to see if bees would bypass the flow-super in favor of a medium standard body. You're so right, some people don't seem to realize that they need honey ON the hive through winter for the bees. The idea that they just have to put on food patties, fondant, heavy syrup etc... is in my opinion, flawed.
Thank you so much for the reply. As of now I have 2 deeps and a medium without a queen excluder, of course adding one at a time as they build out. The queen excluder will go on when I install the Flow Hive as you suggested. It's a shame that when I called our local bee association they where very nice until I mentioned the Flow Hive and he turned on me and started yelling at me on the phone. Thank god for your videos, again I have learned so much from you and feel confident I will succeed in taking care of my little girls because of them . We are a totally organic farm of just 20 acres and I think they will bee happy here. I would like to drill the top holes for another entrance into the hive will a 1 inch hole be enough? Thanks again
Wow, you have a beekeeping association member that "yelled at you" because of a flowhive? I will never understand that response and that is extremely poor representation for that association. Sure, there are people who don't want a flowhive, but a response like that is completely unwarranted. The top entrance hole I use is 3/4 of an inch. If you have a flowhive roof, that entrance can even be in the peak of the gabled roof front. I've been talking with the flow-peole about having more venting/entry options build into the cover face. Maybe we'll see some progress there soon. I'm sorry for the response you received from the beekeeper association... people like that have apparently stopped learning.
Thanks for the reply, keep the great videos coming. I'll keep you posted on the progress of the girls and I hope you don't mind answering a few questions when needed. By the way, it was the head of the association. I think he's just old and set in his ways, no worries. Thanks again.
No problem, I'm so glad you have that healthy attitude and of course, I am always happy to answer questions. The President of our State's Beekeeper Association is a personal friend and I can tell he's not necessarily "enthusiastic" about the FlowHive, but we always have a nice time exchanging ideas, experiences, and observations... :)
6:56 what was that red pollen on the bee?
Hi Mark, my educated "guess" is pear tree blossoms, dark orange.
hi from Australia. quick question. i have seen several people have a second entrance to the top box. it looks like the bees struggle for landing rights. do you think a small purpose built landing board attached under top entrance would be of benefit? loved yr video and enjoyed reading yr comments and suggestions etc. thank you
Hi John, thanks for watching and commenting. The only reason I don't put a top entrance landing board is that when the boxes are stored, the landing board would be in the way. I do think it's worth experimenting with and It's something I've recommended to the FlowHive developers so the foragers don't have to pass through the queen excluder. Wishing you all the best!
Frederick Dunn . hi fred. maybe something removable that slots onto a couple of screws. thanks for your reply. All the best.
Lots of room for innovation there. Removable sounds promising!
There have been beekeepers who have made such supers. It certainly improves the traffic flow.
Very informative, thanks for sharing.
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching.
Thank you to sharing this information 👍
My pleasure
Hi Fred,
Do you think it would possible to use Ian Steppler's double brood box method, using the flow super ?
Moving the queen down to the bottom box once the flow super is full of brood, then adding the excluder
Sorry if you have been asked before
Love your videos. Thank you
That does work, but the better practice is always to remove the flow-super for winter and then put it back on after the spring buildup has begun. You can also select the strongest colony to put the flow-super on for better results.
Fred, gat green hive at 7:52 almost looks like a robbing is going on the bees are piled up so much. Is that possible? Or is that hive just that full?
It's just a very busy access point, no robbing going on. We had a quick warm up and hive population is rapidly increasing. There are lots of environmental resources at the moment, so the risk of robbing is way down. Thanks for taking the time to watch closely, you never know when I may miss something! One pretty conspicuous difference between robbing and a crush at the entry point, is that they are loaded with resources and robbers don't bring groceries with them :)
Thank you so very much for going through the effort necessary to educate your viewers through your experience. What breed of chicken?
HI Gregory, you're very welcome, that chicken is actually my own cross, they are part Astralorp, Part Rose Comb Bantom and Maylay. They are finally breeding true.
I live in Florida and wanted to start a hive.. I am green at it and these videos helped immensely
Nice pictures!
Thank you!
I'm conflicted about using the Queen Excluder. Wondering if leaving it off during high pollen/nectar times (summer) helps improve production of honey - but if leaving a filled Flow Hive on for a winter food source, I could then add the excluder to avoid egg cells etc. Would that approach work?
You should not leave the flow-frames on through winter with or without a queen excluder. This was only as a test and the final method is to leave a brood box (bottom box) have another deep or medium super on with honey (left for winter) then the Flow-Super above that which is removed after the late season nectar flow is finished.
@@FrederickDunn Would you consider or recommend putting an upper entrance directly into the Flow Hive Super so workers don't have to fight going through the Queen excluder? Saw your other responses but was unsure if you would have an entrance go straight into the FlowHive super itself.
@@MikeChamplin No, but I do recommend placing a shallow super on top of the flow-super with an upper entrance. It does really improve the efficiency of foraging bees :)
This was a great video and your voice is also nice.
Thank you so much vonni, what a nice comment!
Why do you limit the entrance because of temperatur? So they wont freeze at night? Isnt it better to open up so they can all get in and out?
We open or reduce entrances based on colony strength, temps and the season. This is filmed in early spring when robing activity is usually high, so keeping the entrances somewhat small is to facilitate colony defense. When the numbers are UP, the reducers are opened up wide.
3:43 Do you routinely scrape off this wild comb?
only about four times a year. BUT, if I need burr comb in order to melt it and put it on starter strips, I can get several pounds of beeswax just from scraping the frame edges in several hives. When I'm not making a video, I take more time and definitely scrape all the burr comb from the inner cover so that opening is easier.
Another excellent video. Well done! So the queen CAN lay in the flow frames. Interesting! I was wondering if she would be able to, given the depth and diameter. I measured the diameter of those cells to be 6.6mm. Are your dimensions the same? Of course, it's possible they waxed up the insides to reduce the diameter. If they don't reduce the diameter then those would be much larger bees, which would introduce a much greater mite problem to the hive. (Explaining this would require a deeper dive into honey bee biology that I don't want to get into in the comments here.) And the need for a queen excluder also reinforces the need to remove the Flow box before winter as queen excluders also need to come off for winter.
Hi BeeVlog, you're not alone in thinking that the queen would not have put her eggs in those cells. The cell dimensions in the flowframes remain unchanged since their original launch. I definitely recommend removal of the flow-super after the last harvest and simply allow surplus honey to remain in the lower boxes for wintering. You have equal chances that the brood produced in the flowframes will be drones or workers. In this flow-super, they were all workers and they are the same size as their hive mates. We have zero mites, or at least none detectable in this colony so far. These are varroa resistant hygienic bees which remove even developing bees from their cells and do a thorough cleaning if they detect any issue at all. Remember that I left some flow-supers ON while removing others. The solid lesson is not to leave then on in winter and you can set your removed frames out for the bees to clean up.
Cool vid.
What the hell is producing that beautiful bright red pollen I saw a few workers carrying in?!?! That was pretty cool, don't think I've ever seen pure red pollen before, just white, yellow, light green and orange.
Hi Brent, right now, the reddish or dark yellow pollen is coming from our pear trees. The range of pollen colors is really fantastic this time of year. Some of the dark orange pollen is from dandelions, light yellow is from our apple trees, and the maple trees are ending their pollen phase, but that's the pale (almost white) yellow. :)
So what if I added a second brood box between the bottom box and the excluded (and full) flow super at the beginning of August? I panicked because I knew the queen would die if I didn't add another brood box below the super in time for them to fill it, which is why I did what I did. The workers immediately moved some of the stores down when I added the second brood box. I haven't checked to see the status of the second brood box.
I had intended to leave the flow super on all winter, this being their first year. Do you think I should drain the flow super and take it off?
I can't believe he didn't answer your question! Yes, take your flow supers off, that's what Mr Dunn told us to do this year. He took his off for winter.
Consulta precio del alza para una colmena
Hi Fred, after watching your later posted videos where you do not currently use a Queen excluder on any of your Flow boxes, I had decided not to use an excluder next year on my Flow box but then came across this video where the queen did get up to the flow frames to lay her eggs. Was this because you didn’t use a honey bridge (Medium Super) between the upper brood box and the flow frames as I believe you mention in some of your later videos? I like you am into beekeeping not for the honey (great bonus) but rather what I can learn about bees and becoming a better beekeeper. As you may have guessed I am going back through and watching all your posted videos on bee keeping and become more knowledgeable with every video I watch, thanks for posting such informative videos and being so open minded and following the science, not necessarily the considered “correct way”.
Thank you so much, Brad! I should discuss this during Friday's Q&A as many of the flow-users are down-under and in spring. Thank you for asking and I hope you'll watch on Friday and let me know if I've covered your concerns. :) And thank you for watching my videos as well as the excellent compliment :)
Question. Can you put two sets of frames into the hive? One normal frame-set right above the brood box and then a Queen Exluder and Flow-frame on top of it.
So they can lay eggs in the frames and at the same time keep the Flow clean.
Yes, you can absolutely do that. It's the most recommended method.
I have a question. Is there a reason the lower entrance spans the whole width of the hive, but the upper entrance is the size of a dime? It seems like it would be much better for the honey-gathering workers to have multiple of those entrances or something more like what's at the bottom to reduce the traffic jam up top.
That's a great question Hunter, upper entrances are prime robbing and raiding entrances also, so it's always advantageous to the bees to keep that somewhat "focused".
@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the quick and informative reply! Makes sense, if the honey is usually up top and the queen/attendants/brood are all down low, anything wanting a quick snack would try to go up top directly, like those yeller jackets you mentioned in the other video that keep getting into your jars.
Yellow jackets can zip right in there with ease when the mornings are particularly cold. Feral bees always place their honey stores far from the entrance and brood is near the entrance, we mess that order up a little with upper entrances.
Hi Fred,
Since you said that installing the queen excluder below the flow super slows down the workers from filling it with honey, what would you say to putting a second entrance directly into the flow box? If the queen stays in the bottom and the workers can access the top directly, won't the process possibly go faster? Thanks
Foragers would definitely have a clear and direct route to the Flow-Super, but many workers that do cell maintenance and cleaning would not have access through the queen excluder. Beekeepers count on enough workers being able to make it through the excluder to accomplish those tasks. So yes to foragers, not so much for bees performing interior jobs.
So.. a person has to open and clean their hive like every spring? or how often? I was thinking of trying to have honey bee's, but would they do okay in like the state of NV? where it gets hot and dry? also.. does a person need flowers and such growing close by or would the bees travel to find and bring it back?
A healthy and well-populated hive of bees generally cleans itself. You do open the hive to inspect the colony and directly view brood, gee production, the queen and general interior conditions. As for doing well in NV, I can't answer that question as the environment definitely does have to provide resources for the honey bees. Flowering plants that also generate nectar would be critical to the bees. No doubt that summer high heat conditions would be a factor as the bees use a lot of water to cool the hive interior. I'd take a serious look at any bees that already exist there and would seek out beekeepers that would share their challenges and successes with you. Not every environment is suited to honey beekeeping. Bees will travel 3 miles and in some cases even greater distances to obtain resources. The closer the resources, the easier on the bees. I hope that helps?
Great video thank you: Live in Orlando have two 8 frame brood boxes that are doing well. Used the metal queen excluder under my flow hive and got very little activity in the Flow Hive and it became a safe place for the hive beetles to become a problem. So took out the queen excluder and the bees exploded into the Flow Hive and the queen is now laying up there just as in your video. Good news beetle population is now hardly an issue. Any thoughts on what to do with this now very expensive brood box?
By midsummer, the queen in my hive descended to the lower boxes and after the hatch, the workers returned the flowframes to honey storage use. It took several weeks but is functioning normally and I didn't clean it out myself. In your case, if you can make sure the queen is out of the flowframes, put that queen excluder in under the flowframes and allow the current brood to hatch and the bees will clean everything up for you. After that, just keep the queen excluder in and don't forget to remove them for winter. We don't have small hive beetles here "yet" so I haven't faced that problem. I wish you all the best.
Thanks for the quick reply. This is my first year so finding the queen is still a challenge. Question: Here in florida we do sugar syrup feeding during the winter months. Would you feed on top of the flow hive when it comes feeding time?
Back when I did feed the bees in winter, I used those polystyrene hive top feeders and they worked really well, plus you could remove the hive cover to fill the feeder without exposing the bees to cold temps... I'll find a link to the type I used... www.betterbee.com/feeders/BHTF.asp
Thanks - will check it out. Have a great weekend
I was thinking about getting some honey bees for myself but I was wondering what is better the easy flow hive or the old fashioned wooden box ones ?
Hi John, if you have the extra money and don't mind the cost, go ahead and start off with a full flowhive system. BUT, if you're not sure you want to manage honey bees and are just sort of testing the water, I suggest getting a standard Langstroth kit and learning about the bees first. I also currently recommend using Acorn Heavy Waxed frames for starting off. Later on you can intermix wooden frames with or without foundation once your bees get going and are secure. I hope that helps get your thought wheels going :)
Frederick Dunn thank you sir for the information I'll put it to good use
You're very welcome!
Love your videos, I'm in South Florida and I'm new beekeeper, I want to know when is a good time to put on my honey super box?
Can someone please help
Hey Frederick, why don’t you put a landingboard on the upper entrance. Would it make sense to put another hole to the upper entrance to get more traffic through and a little landing board too? The smaller part or box on your hive is just a spare one to provide more space for the bees? And what about Varoa and the checking and counting for that. How do you do that with the flow hives? For this year it would be to late for me to start but next year I want to set up my own bees now that I would have enough time and space. So for the cold season you leave the flows in the hive for providing them with enough food?
Hi Stefan, varroa counting is the same as with other hives, just scoop the nurse bees off of the brood frames and proceed. I will do some varroa testing this summer as I have a kit to demonstrate. A tiny upper landing board may help a little, but it's very rare that they have a traffic jam there and I don't want to give wasps a landing spot for their hunting. I think I've seen others use upper landing boards, but I can't remember the specific video at the moment. This year I'm using feeder shims that have controllable upper entrance holes so I will no longer be putting entrance holes in the upper super boxes.
Hi Fred. Maybe you could give me some advice? I also kept the flow super on overwinter. It’s been around 8-10 Celsius and the bees have been out. I’m in zone 8a. I was thinking of removing the flow super today if they haven’t started using the resources. Should I proceed? Peace. ✌️
I wouldn't leave flow-supers on for winter, other than for testing purposes. Yes, if you get a nice warm day, I would remove it until they have completed their spring build up.
@@FrederickDunn Thanks brother👍🏼. You’re an excellent responder! God Bless.
I had a look inside. They’re already in the flow super. I’m going to leave the alone.
Thanks for the update. How did you build your inner cover to fit the flow hive with a telescoping top? Thanks
Hi Craig, it's nothing fancy, I just took a standard inner cover and added another layer with 3/4" pine stock.
Just a thought. I don't use queen excluders either. I also am way to cheap to buy a flow hive. I make my own foundation less frames so I don't have to buy foundation. The reason you have brood in your flow frames is because over the winter your bees moved up the hive as they used their stores. Then spring came and she started laying. Take the flow hive off in the winter and chances are you won't have brood in the flow hive without and excluder.
all true, thanks, and exactly why I did this demonstration.
I was wondering if the system could lock up because of propolis sealing
I have not had that problem...
Another question or thoughts...some of the beekeepers claim and do it for sure as well that they use normal box as spare box under the brood box to prevent early swarming. The say it gives the option to make a certain „wild building“ area where there would be so much space that the bees start to build theses hanging combs like in nature with honey and brood an that they would start to hang out there as huge flocks so to say in GermanEnglish. This should calm them down and prevent for a certain extend swarming...what do you do preventing the bees therefore?
Rotating or under-supering is a common practice. I just add a medium or double deep before adding the flow-super.
@Frederick Dunn , Wouldn't placing a queen excluder on the top and below the Flow Hive box produce a better effect for honey production if that is your aim?
Obviously, a shallow box on the top where bees can enter. Or would this potentially lead to the queen moving outside and walk up to the top to circumvent the queen excluder which leads to a potential risk of losing the queen?
That's interesting, I've never observed a queen walking up the outside, but anything is of course possible. I think just take the flowsuper off for winter and you'll be fine, I'm still "personally" not in favor of using queen excluders, but I realize that it is the "safe" method.
Well, Safe method is always the best method if you are a beginner and can't keep an eye on the Apiary every day or often enough due other commitments. I figured if you have an entrance on top and at the bottom of the hive box. It might lead to better honey production since they do not need to walk through the whole hive.
Another idea would be to build two shallow boxes. Then permanently attach a queen excluder to the bottom of the top box. On the top of the bottom box. Then route out some slots along the sides of the two shallow boxes. Then a flat sheet of plywood attached to the outsides just above the slot and then make a tunnel to the above box. Essentially a Bridge to the top shallow box. Allowing the queen to lay eggs in the top box if she fancies without leaving the risk of her leaving the hive.
Then between the two queen excluder's you have the flow hive. The result is that it will be a pain to get loose but I reckon, if the top box just have six screws loosely driven into the wood so it rests into position on the 'tunnel/bridge'. Without hampering the slot. One should be able to loosen it easier.
Of course, this is just complicating an Apiary process more than necessary but if one fancy exploring the idea of testing out ways to grow a big hive without hampering its honey production.
I have an absurd theory that probably every Beekeeper will shun. But, in Ant communities they tend to have polygamous colony, if the space is enough. But if it is a small Ant colony, they will shun/get rid of excess queens.
So essentially, if you can cultivate a hive somehow into a Mega hive, it should become a polygamy hive. But I reckon they would rather swarm than have a Sub-Queen.
As I said, I can easily write up theories. IF they are practical or not, well... That is another story.
You are correct, the upper entrances do speed the delivery of nectar from the foraging bees directly to the supers. You may notice in several of my videos, there is more traffic at the upper entrances than the landing board, so the bees do use it. Thanks again!
Dumb question: Once the Flow frames have been used for brood, can you then add a queen excluder? My question is after the brood is hatched, will the bees go back to using the formerly brood frames to store honey?
Yes, as part of their normal annual behavioral routine, the queen simply descends back down to the lower boxes and continues laying there. The brood that is in the flow-frames simply hatches out and they go to work cleaning the frames. With no new eggs being laid in the flow-frames, they simply begin using the flow-frames for honey once again and they can be cycled for honey extraction as before. I pulled a couple of these frames as educational tools.
With your upper entrances, how do you use that super handle with bees coming and going? Even after smoking, I would think you'd have traffic that would prevent you from using the handle.
Hi Dave, that's an interesting question and you're the first to ask it! There are handle cutouts on all four sides, so I generally just grab the box on the side handles rather than the front and back. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I live in Upper Michigan. How do I give my bees enough honey to make it through the winter as I have to keep a super on but have to have a queen excluder. Wouldn't my bees move up and leave the queen to die in the brood boxes?
You should never leave a queen excluder on as fall and winter arrive. Your bees need to be able to move up into their honey super through winter. If you are using Flow-Hives there, you'll need a complete deep brood box, AND a medium honey super that is full of honey before you put your flow-super on. Then you remove the flow-super for winter, leaving all of the honey in those lower two boxes for the bees to winter on. Also it's critical to have an insulated inner cover on for wintering so they can maintain a heat capsule above the winter cluster without the threat of condensation forming above the bees. In upper Michigan, I'd look at insulating your hives around and on that top box at a minimum.
@@FrederickDunn ok thx. I wasn’t going to leave the excluder on. I probably worded the question wrong. I have two brood boxes. We had a great spring here and a local beekeeper told me to expand. So my brood boxes will get my bees through winter? I didn’t know if I was supposed to leave a super on after removing the excluder.
whats the electronic thing at the too labeled guard?
ua-cam.com/video/8JiKdi0NF_8/v-deo.html
dumb question: what' that "guard" black and white thing on the top of your box?
Not a dumb question at all, it's a deterrent for bears. Flashing lights make bears think twice about what that "blinking" is and they avoid the area. It only works if they have not already raided your hives. They are called predator guard.. here is a link to a review I did on them: ua-cam.com/video/8JiKdi0NF_8/v-deo.html
Frederick Dunn, do you know if the old honey and sugar are reused to make that years honey or is it eaten by the bee's ? Thank you.
Hi Chick Hosmer (btw, I have a cedar canvas canoe called the Hosmer Queen) the old solidified honey is generally just used up by the bees as they generate heat for the hive and brood. If they aren't given access to the old honey early in the season, or during a dearth, they will ignore it altogether and consume what is brought in fresh with a new nectar flow. Thank you for that question! They are in the habit of moving "unripe" honey around the comb at night, you'll see cells getting filled all over the place during the day as foraging bees bring it in at a fast pace, then at night, the interior house-keeping bees will actually move it towards the center of the frames and reorganize. They may also move the nectar (unripe honey) around the brood alongside pollen stores for ready access by the maternity bees :) That is a topic unto itself!
Frederick Dunn
Fantastic reply, thank you so mush for taking the time for this explanation. Just curious how you came up with the name for your canoe .
It was constructed by Horace Strong in Craftsbury Vermont and he named several of his canoe designs after Little Hosmer Pond. My family owned a farm less than a quarter mile from that pond and I spent years playing there. There is Little Hosmer and Big Hosmer.. and now you have "the rest of the story" :)
Huh, so if you were inclined, you could have an entirely synthetic hive structure to start your bees in? Would this help counteract the pests and parasites that tend to eat the comb?
I knew it was just a matter of time before someone mentioned that. Yes, you "could" have entirely synthetic brood cells/comb, but I think that naturally drawn out bees wax comb is best for the bees. I think, personally, that it's enough that we are using plastic foundation, but it is "possible".
lol the second one he opened looked like a bee bakery. Just little squeeze-bag lemon rosettes everywhere :)
You must be an artist to see the world that way :)