There’s a lot of buzz about a product called the “Flow Hive”. If you haven’t seen it yet, here is your chance. Watch and listen to how it works.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_pj4cz2VJM
MY Thoughts On The Flow Hive
So what do you think? I think it’s a pretty cool idea. But there has to be more to it. I know there is more to it, not because I have used one, but because I’m a beekeeper. This gives me a some insight into how bees work.
Non-beekeepers and beekeepers alike are getting excited about the prospect of placing bees into a box, opening a tap, and getting fresh honey. They need to slow their horses for their own sakes and the bees’ sake. Unfortunately, bees are more likely to die than they are to make extra honey for you to tap into.
Tapping a hive and expecting honey is equal to screwing a tube into an apple tree to get fresh, pure, strained apple juice. Common sense should tell you there is more to it.
Did You Know That Beekeepers Are Taught Not To Take Any Honey From Their Bees During Their First Year?
Contrary to popular belief, honey bees make honey for themselves and not for us. It is a huge effort for bees to get to a place where they can afford to share their honey with you. To rob it before they have their share of honey for survival is bad beekeeping.
If the Flow Hive encourages more people to keep bees, I’m all for it. If the flow hive encourages the public to expect fresh honey at the turn of a dial, I’m not excited at all. All the prospective bad beekeepers will be coming out of the woodworks.
I appreciate a well thought out design and the Flow Hive has one.
Know This If Interested In Trying It Out
The flow hive is a modification of the frames in a normal Langstroth hive (the type most beekeepers use in the US). The special frames shown below (the Flow frames) are the part of the hive that makes it different than the standard hive. The normal Langstroth equipment above and below the flow frames are required for the hive.
The flow frames would be in addition to the normal Langstroth hive and for example, would sit above the boxes and frames included in our kits. You would not want to leave the flow frames on the hive year-round as the queen is not able to lay eggs inside the flow frames. So the flow frames are only added to the hive after the hive has built out their “normal” frames and also stored enough honey to survive the winter. Then the flow frames can be added for excess honey.
TRY ONE OUT FOR YOURSELF
There are a lot of flow hive options available online right now and the prices have come down a lot.
On Amazon, there are many options for flow hives now. You can get the official FLOW hive or you can get several off-brand versions of it.
Happy Beekeeping
