Your invention of the flow hive absolutely changed the game for bees and bee keepers! Many millions more bees are kept preserved bc more people can keep them and enjoy their wonderful honey with no hassle. Amazing job Flow HIve crew!
solution for what? definetly not "saving the bees"... otherwise you would just let them all their honey and plant flowers instead of "honey on tap"-bullshit. bea-awareness is not well done like that.
I'd love to see a recap of a harvested frame days and then weeks later, to see the stages of the wax chewed off and then refilled and recapped with honey. So cool!
If I were to own one of these, I would use a small scoop or spoon on a long handle to scoop it all out of the frame once the flow has finished and then use a cotton ball with water on a long handle to clean. You can make it yourself and you can do it cheaply.
I am trying to talk my dad into going into halves with me on purchasing a Flowhive so that we can keep bees in the side yard and get honey at the same time. I use a lot of honey between various sauces and use it as a sweetener for a lot of things over sugar and so it definitely would not go to waste! I have always been fascinated with bee keeping, but never wanted to do it the traditional way cause of how long it takes. With how much work is involved and with my schedule, I would not have the time to tend to it properly. I noticed in a lot of other videos on the flowhive, not just from the manufacture's channel but people who have bought a hive comment saying they want to know "cheaper" alternatives because they do not want to spend nearly 800 dollars to get started. You figure traditional hives might be cheaper in a sense, but to harvest the honey, wax and comb, you need one of those big honey extractor machines which can get expensive quick. (you can buy a 2 frame one for less than 100 but it would take a lot longer to do only 2 frames at a time vs being able to do 6-8+) but it takes forever and a lot of labor to get the honey to that point anyway going traditional. If you really want to bee keep but not spend an entire day extracting honey the traditional way, paying more upfront is the best way to go because there is less labor involved when it comes to extracting the honey and a heck of a lot less clean up. The design of these flow hive frames are encased in a controlled environment and really the only thing causing wear and tear on them are the bees (which do little to no damage at all to the frames) they will last a lot longer than traditional frames simply because with traditional you are man handling the frames and cutting on them and over time it will cause damage on the frames. What I love about these too is if you notice you have a strong bee population in your hive, you can easily build onto the hive with ease. I am not saying there is no labor involved with the flow hive because obviously assembling it can be tricky until you get use to it if it is being done for the first time, but then there is also caring for the bees and making sure they are set for the winter and checking to make sure they arnt infest with mites and stuff. But it is definitely time friendly, easier and kills less bees this way. And I do not know about you, but seeing the honey come out and fill out a jar is sooooo satisfying.
I don't even like honey, but this is one of the coolest things ever. Better yet, only 10 days into the fundraiser and you already raised 6,412% of your goal. 10 days, $4.5M... holy cow.
If you've only had "store-bought" honey, I understand why you don't like it. Try to find some raw honey from a local beekeeper...you might be shocked at the difference.
This is really cool! Thanks for showing us how it works :) It's nice to know that the bees aren't disturbed at all. I had no idea fresh honey looked that clear, until I found out that raw honey has a different texture because of the honeycomb. This is just plain honey by itself! I bet it tastes amazing.
***** yeah I know about the color differences :D I just mean like when raw honey is like really thick and pasty? I'm not sure how that happens, but I'm sure it tastes good
@@arrojo235 ah, and who the fuck are you bruh, i just tried to say your name out loud and the furniture started floating, fucking captain ass Weno Owen.
A FEW THINGS 1) It looked like there was honey draining out of the bottom of the frame somewhere, as it was all over the varroa sheet where it met the frame. 2) Do you need queen excluder to to stop the bees from using the comb for anything other than honey. 3) Are the bees happy to renovate the broken wax caps and start again, or do you need to clean the wax caps off, to help the ladies get started again.
1) That can happen on a first harvest if you do the whole frame and not bits at a time, but after that apparently bees usually plug the holes. 2) Yes. If the queen puts larva in the flow frame they'll die during harvest so you need to keep her out of there. 3) Other videos show bees removing the caps and cleaning up after a harvest.
It's just great. I can't wait to use it. My only questions are, "if the cappings are left intact, how do the bees know we stole the honey and decide to chew the caps off and refill ? Have you ever been left with an empty capped frame?" would scratching the cappings encourage a faster refill ? Sandra
Hi, The bees see in infrared and can see when the honey has been drained out if they see a slightly lighter colour like shown in the video and if uncapped cells have moved to a zig zag shape. Bees keep the hive at a constant 35 degrees Celsius so that’s why they can see it.
It's taken us a few years but here in mid summer of 2020 in central Illinois we're watching our new hive which we established with a 5 frame nucleus on the first of May finally starting to bring nectar into the FlowHive honey super having already filled an 8 frame deep super with their winter's supply. Looking forward to enjoying for many years to come. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers.
@@InJusticeAustralia I work summers in Alaska and other scheduling issues...but this summer we were finally able to get it all together and actually do the things a conscientious and interested new beekkeeper wants to do. Cheers.
Really nice demonstration... I've already purchased a system and am in North America... delivery has been delayed, is there any update on when orders will be fulfilled? Originally expected in October... then December... now it's January. Glad to see this demonstration while I'm "patiently" waiting for the system... looking forward to trying it all out... A++ demonstration here!
***** Had problems with my first box, the second one came in perfectly! The bees are still filling them, so have not had a harvest yet. I still like the concept.
At 6:00 do the workers notice the honey missing, even with the caps in tact? I didn't expect to see the cap wax remaining apparently undisturbed like that... ?
+idol hell it doesn't work like that the top frames are for surviving the winter and they will still think there is honey in there until winter when they go to eat the honey and find there us no honey they will sit there and freeze to death
You are very correct... they did indeed just remove the caps from the drained cells and went straight into refilling the frames again. thanks, thought I'd come back and share that you were right! :)
the world can't thank you enough. you might have saved the world literally! and I am serious too. these hives could bring the bee keeping industry back and also our plant life!!!
There's one straight question I've been working in plastics for 21 years and plastics degrade over time the structure changes either the plastic gives off fumes which might be toxic to bee's or harbour viruses a good idea but needs further research and what happens to the wax the whole point of harvesting is both honey and wax.
Just purchased a flow hive waiting for it to turn up can’t wait my cousin has give me a box of bees with only one frame in absolute full of bees I’m brand new to bee keeping so watching many vids for research I think I’ll make videos for TH-cam along the way for more feedback and info. Thanks for sharing this useful video 👌🏽
@@elanarc3409 I ain’t had the chance to put the super flow on yet 🥹 soon as it turned up I moved the bees from the poly nuke of my cuz into the flow hives brood box and let them fill the frames up then the cold weather came. So I’m now waiting for the end of may or maybe middle of April to put the super flow on. Killing me waiting lol but they are booming in the brood box at this moment. they was in and out with pollen today. So I’m 50/50 weather to do a walk away split then put the flow super on ? Or just put the super flow straight on 🤷🏽♂️ what would u do mate as I’m a newbie
Never kept bees but planning on it one day when I can afford the equipment. I've been wondering how much honey you should leave the bees to eat over winter? I'd rather not feed them sugar but leave them with some honey instead :)
I know this is late, but for anyone else reading. If you set your hives up correctly then the honey you harvest is the honey in a particular box. any honey in the deeps are for the bees during winter.
Kudos from the Czech Republic. I'm happy to see such great and truly ingenious "Aussie-way" invention. I haven't seen all the reactions yet, but I believe there will be a bunch of traditionalists hating it (I'm missing the point why since it can be placed side by side with the classic wooden frame, it does not harm the bees at all and has other unparalleled benefits). But anyway. Again, great job making life of bees and beekeepers easier! :)
Just harvested my flow hive and it was really easy and produced a lot of honey; however, what they didn't show you and what I had a problem with was that a lot of honey actually flowed all the way through the hive until the bottom board had about a quarter of an inch of honey covering it. You can see evidence of this in the video if you look closely to the two tilted pieces of wood that the frame is sitting on. There is honey at the base. There was so much honey that flowed down that it caused thousands of my bees to leave the hive and collect on the front of the hive for more than two days. I don't know if I did something wrong or if this is a flaw in the hive design. I did have it at about a 5% angle, which is what is recommended.
This is a good question I planned on buying a flow frame but I figured that a free comb would be more natural and pure but if it’s actually equally clean then I’m game both ways
My friend keeps bees. I can attest to the flavor from the flow hive being different, it has the flavor of eating a honey filled comb. It’s pretty amazing, especially for people who enjoy that raw comb flavor.
es muy bonito... pero una pregunta: la estructura es de plástico...? si es así: como afectara a la composición de la miel... ya sabemos que el plástico afecta todo lo que toca y mas si hay temperatura por medio... un saludo
Mira donde te encuentro Gustavo! jaja, totalmente de acuerdo contigo. Esto es un muy buen invento (como invento en si) pero me parece mas un juguete para apicultores curiosos que una verdadera herramienta para la apicultura. Saludos
Exacto, en eso pense cuando mencionaron que la estructura era de plastico, ademas ya no seria sostenible la produccion. Pero por otro lado tambien me preocupa la forma comun de extraer la miel...siempre moriran unas cuantas abejas
Maybe a silly question from a non bee keeper who is interested and thinking of starting with bees: When the honey is drained and the cells are still capped how do the bees know to refill the cells? Do they brake the capping and starting to refill by instinct? It is so amazing and looks so easy with your flow frames. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Gabi, not a silly question at all! The bees are quick to notice when the honeycomb cells are empty - we guess empty cells must feel quite different underfoot if you are a bee. We have found the bees will sense the cells are empty and straight away begin uncapping, repairing the wax in the cells, and refilling. You can watch them work on uncapping the end cells as soon as you reset the Flow Frame to the closed position. Usually they finish uncapping all the cells in a day or two. If the hive is not so busy (the colony is on the smaller size, population-wise) it may take longer. In our experience, a slower hive can take up to a week to uncap all the cells on the frame. - Sam
Hi, we share your concerns around plastics and have worked hard to find the very best food grade materials. The clear viewing ends of the frames are made from a virgin food grade copolyester. The manufactures have assured us that it's not only BPA-free, but it is not manufactured with bisphenol-S or any other bisphenol compounds. The manufactures also say that third-party labs have tested this material and the results have demonstrated that it is free of estrogenic and androgenic activity. The centre frame parts are made from a Virgin Food grade Polypropylene which is also free from any Bisphenol compounds and is widely accepted as one of the safest plastics for food contact. It has also been used for many years in beehives for both Brood and Honey combs. We will keep you informed if anything changes and we use any different materials. The viewing windows are perspex. The plastic tubes we send with the frames are BPA free, BPS free and free from any Bisphenol compounds. It's a co polyester that is used for BPA free Babies bottles and other food grade products. The bees wax the Flow Frames completely so the honey does not come into contact with the plastic. They are designed to last many, many years provided they are kept away from sunlight and treated with care. If the Flow Frames are out of the hive they will need to be stored in a cool, dry, dark location.The Flow Frames have been tested for several seasons and are still functioning well.The Flow Frames plastic is UV sensitive. - Leah
FlowHive How can that possibly be proven? Plastic are estrogenic, especially when in heat, and the heat inside there must be fairly high. The unnatural part of the plastics is very concerning. They said the same thing about GMO, Roundup, margarine, etc. when it was new.
Admittedly, I am skeptical, but I support anything that brings bee awareness and gets everyday people interesting in beekeeping. I am a little worried that the bees will not survive the winter and that there is too much water in the honey, but that has yet to be proven. I will be interested to see how the bees fare through the years with this type of hive. Its an ingenious idea!
***** You are correct. I meant to say that people will be harvesting uncapped honey because they cannot see the combs in the middle. Bees tend to cap honey from one side to another, or from the middle to the outer sections, so it is possible that people will harvest uncapped honey if they do not take the time to pull the combs out ad inspect then before they drain the honey. But most of the videos and reviews i have seen thus far are from people who regularly inspect the hive, so it may not be a problem.
When you say that the bees chew the wax after honey harvest, what do they do with it while they're filling the frame with honey again?. Also, is the other end of the frame hard up against the hive body? Also, can you tell if the frame is fully capped without taking it out?
***** Wow, thank you, I've never heard of bees actually consuming wax before, I thought they build comb with it & use it as cappings. I'm a bit concerned about the portion of frame hard up against the observation window & the fact that the bees can't chew any holes through the plastic in order to get good circulation around the hive to ripen the honey, which I believe is very important to the bees. I want to get one of these hives so that when friends come around, I'll be able to show them how I can simply put a hose in the back of my hive & fill a jar of honey without getting stung. How do you reckon I'd go? Would it matter if I thought the frame was fully capped, then I extracted the honey & it wasn't ripe? I've heard that sometimes they'll cap it across the top, down the sides, but leave a huge semi-circle in the middle uncapped. Would it be ok to sell that honey at say, a farmers market? I'm thanking you in advance for your reply, cheers:o)
***** Thank you, I'll take on board your closing paragraph:):):) Getting back to the wax, I think you said they eat the wax, if they don't eat (consume) the wax, what do they do with it after the honey is harvested? the bees need to be able to fill the comb up with honey again. The brood box could be chock-a-block, the bees need room to move around themselves possibly 60k of them & circulate air right through the hive, where do they keep storing that wax?, time after time, after time.
***** I just thought I'd touch base with you, it appears that these people wont guarantee delivery, you can read the disclaimer on the crowd funding web page.
You guys are the greatest. I am sharing this with all my bee keeper friends. Best wishes for your success. It is innovation like this that inspires others to pursue their dreams. Leading by example; you guys are truly the salt of the earth. Thank you.
ThePolysyllabist Thanks, you could be right there, however I found that if bees don't like a certain situation, they'll leave it. I've seen hundreds of wild beehives in all sorts of shapes & size cavities at all different heights. Under a deflated kids pool draped over a tree, the rear of a tv set, a wine barrel, under the floor of a trailer boat, using the bung hole as an entrance, a hollow steel fence post, it just happened to have a hole in it that the bees found convenient. In a tea chest, full of antique car parts, there was no square OR oblong cavity there, just gaps between all the parts. Man that was a big hive. In the hollow of a rolled up piece of carpet. Under a barbeque. Then there must be well over a hundred of wall cavity hives I've seen & removed.
***** We just ordered our hive boxes for this year (traditional ones) and we ordered wax foundations. Plastic transfers cold temperatures more and our bees are really struggling through our (Canadian) winters, especially these past two record-breaking cold years. Some keepers, us included, have the ability to store hives indoors over winter, which may help. This idea is brilliant, but I still have a few concerns, including the added plastic content and the lower wax production - I make candles so I'm excited about having the wax. By law, any honey sold here also has to be filtered - I doubt that this would be an exception.
Donna Kovacs Hi Donna, well done, your on the right track there. The more I read, the more questions there are. Apparently the flow channel has to be washed out, I don't know how often, apparently you use a bottle brush & warm water while the frame is still on the hive. That sounds sticky & messy, not to mention time consuming.
What is the longest you've run the hive without taking the frame out to wash/clean it? Surely there is some measure of honey that remains in the bottom channel (despite the self drain feature shown near the end)? Love the invention, great work!
I think that is only true if it stays at the right moisture content; which is why the bees cap the honey when it has evaporated enough of it's water, but before it has candied.
Jeremy Connor Honey has been found in tombs in Egypt to be as fresh and as good as today's honey. It last forever. Heat can boil the sugar out but you are then talking about honey's boiling point not just sitting in a hive. Keep in mind, bees will eat what they need if the hive is left alone. This is their food too and we are robbing their store house. They wouldn't let it go bad even it it did.
***** I believe the Egyptian honey was stored in a container (just Googled it). Therefore my concerns about the honey isn't when in concentrated form, but rather when kept in an extremely thin layer, which the bees cannot access to clean. I asked the creators or anyone with experience with the flow hive during testing because surely they have already seen this matter IRL with the frames, it might be a non issue as you suggest. Cheers.
Am a beekeeper. Put some honey on a plate in your living room on a shelf and it will get dusty. It will last forever and ever or until the ants find it whichever comes first. Thousand year old honey? How much? I got some 3 yr old I'll sell you. It's premium. Wayyy better than fresh. Starting to get it? "Real" honey crystalizes. It's still honey but you'd have to heat it up to make it liquid again. Want some now? Cut it with a knife honey.
absolutely blown away! and in the past few days I've found a handful of local independent beekeepers, who are successfully over-wintering colonies at 9000+ feet elevation!! so i KNOW the dream is a reality and am more eager than ever to help the honey bee resurgence in the High Rockies of Colorado!!!
Great idea guys, I just have one question @ 5:52 if the surface made from the wax caps remains undisturbed how do the bees know that the honey is gone ? how will they replace it ?
He said the bees notice theres no honey, take caps off and use the wax to recoat the combs in about 2 days. Then they start filling it with honey again.
Absolutely unreal! Thanks so much for this really well thought out and constructed design. I’m thinking about purchasing one after watching all your videos!
I was concerned that the capping would prevent the bees from refilling the cells. Good to know they will notice and chew the cap off to refill. Thank you for addressing that.
I stumbled upon this after watching some of your other videos. THIS is the answer to the question I had from the moment I saw your hive. The question was obvious "Isn't it extremely un-hygienic to leave an open jar and an open spout on the hive like that attracting dust dirt and insects?" The answer is; one doesn't. It's an on-demand thing not a continual flow.
Once it's empty, do you replace the whole thing? What about the wax? What do you do with the wax? I need close captions please or I'll just keep asking questions. Where or how do you get the bees to come to the flow box? Does it need the queen? Does the flow box need to be single or two boxes are better? Where do the bees keep the larvaes in the other hive or in the same box? If the same box, prefer two boxes top for flow honey and the bottom box for making babies? Sorry for asking too many questions. I'm too hungry to learn. Love it. I'll like to teach my homeschoolers. Perfect education. Thanks😉☺️😊
Jackie Flynn Hi Jackie, it's great you have a lot of questions. No, apparently the bees fill it up again, I'm not sure what happens to the wax in the mean time. You need to get a colony of bees that includes a queen. A beekeeping class is highly advisable. All the brood raising (babies) happens in the brood box (the bottom box). The brood box & honey box are separated by a queen excluder, that keeps the queen out of the honey box. The bees will only store honey in the top box if the beekeeper is successful in raising a good colony of bees. Plus you need plenty of blossom & good weather. There are a few challenges in beekeeping, AFB, SHB, wax moth, varoa mite, Chalk Brood Disease, Nosema, Swarming, just to name a few. Oh, depending where you live, you may need to be registered as a beekeeper, even with only one hive. Good luck with your homeschoolers, bye
***** and Jackie Flynn: bees will naturally reprocess wax - I just want to be sure that they recognize these cells as being empty and reprocess the wax as mentioned in the video. With locally having lost up to 75% and 100% of some apiaries, we don't have excess colonies to gamble with.
Jackie Flynn from a fellow homeschooler, beekeeping is a great educational experience! :D Whether you keep hives or not, look into joining your local beekeeping association, even with your kids, if they are old enough to sit through the meetings! Maybe even start kid/beginner level meetings within your homeschool group and learn together! We've learned lots, too, by getting our own veils and smoker and helping a friend with her hives! A second smoker isn't necessary but can come in super handy when the guard bees get to be a little too curious about the stranger(s) in their yard!
Hi Samuils, we have found the bees will sense the cells are empty and begin the uncapping, re-waxing and refilling process straight away. Usually they finish uncapping all the cells in a day or two. A busy hive will uncap all the cells in a day or two. If the hive is not so busy it may take longer. We have seen a not so busy hive take a week to finish uncapping the cells on the outside frames. After they have uncapped the cells they will begin the process of refilling the cells with honey. Please let me know if you have any other questions - leah
Great video and thanks for sharing your user experience with the flow hive cells. Looks like a fantastically simple setup for extraction and bee friendly use. Such a great design for the flow system.
Have you tested the amount of honey harvested over 1 season against a standard one? I can imagine the bees not having to rebuild comb each time you take honey means there is a quicker turn around for them. I'm not a beekeeper btw so I'm not sure of specific terminology.
Jim, leaving enough honey for the bees over winter is so important and applies to all beekeeping. Your bees need honey to get them through the times when there is no nectar available. The number of frames of honey that you should leave depends on your climate. You should consult local beekeepers as to how much they leave for their colonies over the winter. We have found the bees will sense the cells are empty and begin the uncapping, re-waxing and refilling process straight away. Usually they finish uncapping all the cells in a day or two. A busy hive will uncap all the cells in a day or two. If the hive is not so busy it may take longer. Please email us at info@honeyflow.com if you have any other questions - leah
Thank you for replying with this useful information! I really want to start beekeeping and i think for 1 home 6 of your frames 'which are on a very good price' will give me a good amount of honey.
Yes, I would think so. You can expect to harvest about three kilos (6.5 lb) per frame (more if the bees really build each frame out). If you have six frames in your super box then you can expect to harvest at least 18 kilos (39 lbs) when every frame is full. We have found that a super usually fills well within a month during the spring and summer. Although this depends on the amount of nectar available for the bees and how strong the colony is. (We have had Flow™ Supers fill in a week during peak times of the flowering season). - leah
Also Jim, in cold climates it would not be good for the frames to leave them on ll winter...they should be treated like any other surplus honey super...removed and stored. The remaining boxes (per your climate and local recommendation will be ample supply of honey AND less real estate for them to keep warm.
Wow, I am so impressed!!! I have a totally novice question; should you leave one frame alone to allow a fresh brood to be 'born'? Otherwise how does the colony survive?
If the cappings are undisturbed, how do the bees know to rip them open to put more honey in after it is drained? Is the plastic a good substitute for the hundreds of compounds that are in natural beeswax? What if the honey crystalizes? And lastly, will this just promote lazy beekeeping? Will people not check the brood boxes for diseases and pests if they are afraid of being stung? I am just really concerned here for the future of beekeeping and would appreciate these questions being answered..
+DaleTheChicken I can't answer all of them, but here is what I think. 1. Bees know when the nectar is less than 18% water content to cap the cells, so I'm guessing they just know. Plus I'd imagine that bees can feel the difference between filled cells and unfilled cells, but I don't know if they can. 2. The only thing I've heard is plastic will alter the honey and do something like fermentation, than glass. Hence the reason you see most people put it in glass jars. My assumption is that is the only affect. However, I do not know, but for kicks and giggles, I think I will ask the my state's bee inspector and see what he knows. The thing is its been proven that beeswax is good for humans, so by not having that, people lose a small industry. 3. The bees will still eat crystallized honey. I saw one bee keeper that will make sugar cakes and his bees survive. The sugar cake is merely granulated sugar mixed with a little water to make it bond together. 4. I think it depends on the beekeeper. I check my hive at the absolute most when its the swarm season, but back off when the nectar flow is low. My cousin's neighbor has a hive and they haven't checked it once and lost their bees. The few remaining ones will probably die this winter. 5. Hopefully if they are afraid of being stung, they either wear all of the equipment, or they don't have bees. I don't like getting stung so I wear all of the equipment. Don't take this as gospel. I'm a first year beekeeper and I'm sharing what I have watched and learned. Most of my knowledge is coming from either the state bee inspector, or my bee "professor" that has been keeping bees his entire life. With the biological questions, such as your second question, take those answers with a big grain of salt. I don't know them and I'm just putting two and two together hoping I get 22.
+GoBlue576966 Just FYI... honey does NOT go rancid. We have found remains of crystallized honey used by the ancient Egyptians and it still capable of being eaten.
Ferment! Thats the word I can never remember and its a huge difference.I even had to sit here and think for a minute about what the word is, ugh. I should probably change my post. So I don't cause any confusion.
I imagine it's less stressful to the bee's no smoke so they don't get in a panic and drink a lot of honey and they have less comb to rebuild. I'm new to beekeeping and I'm sold.
Yeah? Only around 700 dollars (almost that in u.k. pounds so imagine its about 850 bucks!) Still its less work to extract the honey so swings and roundabouts!
Keep in mind that normal hives go for $300-400 for a hive that size (brood plus honey cells), and that’s not even including to cost of the Honey extractor (spinning machine). So it really isn’t that much more expensive, and you’re eliminating a lot of time cleaning wax and caps out of the honey. You just extract the honey straight from the hive. No mess, no filtering, no fuss.
now try this as a beekeeper with 350 frames of honey. 30 minutes a frame.... that will take forever. in other words use traditional frames... this is just a gadget
Wow it's almost like industrial scale requires industrial solutions. The design of this is so that the frame stays in the hive and the user can harvest without disturbing it, obviously if you're in a more professional application that convenience isn't a concern to you.
Hi Thomas, there are many beekeepers keeping bees in suburban and urban areas, this is increasing all over the world. There are definitely people out there keeping bees on restaurant rooftops in the CBD, inner-city balconies and small suburban backyards. There are several factors to be considered when locating your hive, and you will need to contact your local council to find out what the regulations are for your locale. Here is our guide to locating your hive for more details - www.honeyflow.com/.../where-to-locate-your.../p/159 If you have any questions or require any further information or assistance please let us know. - Leah.
ok looks awesome. i have a question though. the honey is gone, and the caps remain. the bees remove the caps and refill. how do they remove the wax, and what do they do with it. this would not be something they are used to. do they store it somewhere, eat it, or what. blows my mind how much your getting from just one comb. cheers.
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Your invention of the flow hive absolutely changed the game for bees and bee keepers! Many millions more bees are kept preserved bc more people can keep them and enjoy their wonderful honey with no hassle. Amazing job Flow HIve crew!
I hope you and your dad read the comments. THIS DESERVES THE NOBEL PRIZE ! ! ! BEST INVENTION I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE. ! !
they stole the invention tho
You havent seen many inventions I guess
@@MikeHunt420 from where?
I'm curious
@@PadiTetteh a patent from 1938. They’ve claimed it as there own idea though
I have no connection to beekeeping but I could watch Flowhive videos all day. Such an elegant solution.
solution for what? definetly not "saving the bees"... otherwise you would just let them all their honey and plant flowers instead of "honey on tap"-bullshit. bea-awareness is not well done like that.
I'd love to see a recap of a harvested frame days and then weeks later, to see the stages of the wax chewed off and then refilled and recapped with honey. So cool!
Yeah, I was about to ask that: 4:07 The capping stays intact so how do the bees know they need to refill the cells?
I bet the bees are like "WTF, where my honey go?!"
bro the amount of honey these bees make it more like warren buffet asking where did his 10 cent go
😂😂😂
The beekeeper lives in constant fear of a lawsuit when they find out.
I have an exam tomorrow, and here I am watching how Flow Hive thingy works - & I don't even know anything about beekeeping
:D did you pass the exam?
Dude same here now!! 😂😂
Same here. But tomorrow I have two exams...
I now want to go out and get my own bee hive so i can be as satisfied as these guys when they see that honey flow!!!!
Sorry to hear that man, watching the flow give is like watching paint dry but at sometime for unknown reason I can't stop watching it.
Please record of a video how a beekeper prepares his families for the winter and also how to clean it. Thank you
And link to that video, please. Thanks.
If I were to own one of these, I would use a small scoop or spoon on a long handle to scoop it all out of the frame once the flow has finished and then use a cotton ball with water on a long handle to clean. You can make it yourself and you can do it cheaply.
I am trying to talk my dad into going into halves with me on purchasing a Flowhive so that we can keep bees in the side yard and get honey at the same time. I use a lot of honey between various sauces and use it as a sweetener for a lot of things over sugar and so it definitely would not go to waste! I have always been fascinated with bee keeping, but never wanted to do it the traditional way cause of how long it takes. With how much work is involved and with my schedule, I would not have the time to tend to it properly.
I noticed in a lot of other videos on the flowhive, not just from the manufacture's channel but people who have bought a hive comment saying they want to know "cheaper" alternatives because they do not want to spend nearly 800 dollars to get started. You figure traditional hives might be cheaper in a sense, but to harvest the honey, wax and comb, you need one of those big honey extractor machines which can get expensive quick. (you can buy a 2 frame one for less than 100 but it would take a lot longer to do only 2 frames at a time vs being able to do 6-8+) but it takes forever and a lot of labor to get the honey to that point anyway going traditional. If you really want to bee keep but not spend an entire day extracting honey the traditional way, paying more upfront is the best way to go because there is less labor involved when it comes to extracting the honey and a heck of a lot less clean up.
The design of these flow hive frames are encased in a controlled environment and really the only thing causing wear and tear on them are the bees (which do little to no damage at all to the frames) they will last a lot longer than traditional frames simply because with traditional you are man handling the frames and cutting on them and over time it will cause damage on the frames. What I love about these too is if you notice you have a strong bee population in your hive, you can easily build onto the hive with ease. I am not saying there is no labor involved with the flow hive because obviously assembling it can be tricky until you get use to it if it is being done for the first time, but then there is also caring for the bees and making sure they are set for the winter and checking to make sure they arnt infest with mites and stuff. But it is definitely time friendly, easier and kills less bees this way. And I do not know about you, but seeing the honey come out and fill out a jar is sooooo satisfying.
I don't even like honey, but this is one of the coolest things ever. Better yet, only 10 days into the fundraiser and you already raised 6,412% of your goal.
10 days, $4.5M... holy cow.
If you've only had "store-bought" honey, I understand why you don't like it. Try to find some raw honey from a local beekeeper...you might be shocked at the difference.
Yep, only store bought. Thanks for the advice! I guess I'll try it :D
This is really cool! Thanks for showing us how it works :) It's nice to know that the bees aren't disturbed at all. I had no idea fresh honey looked that clear, until I found out that raw honey has a different texture because of the honeycomb. This is just plain honey by itself! I bet it tastes amazing.
***** yeah I know about the color differences :D I just mean like when raw honey is like really thick and pasty? I'm not sure how that happens, but I'm sure it tastes good
***** Oh wow, that's really cool! :D Thanks for explaining that to me, really appreciate it!
***** cool thanks for the info
Where can you buy this
One of the purest things on this planet from the purest creatures on the planet.
I am very emotional right now.
I kill bees for fun
@@ottovonnichtort7605 If you have a profile like that, you're a pussy
@@arrojo235 ah, and who the fuck are you bruh, i just tried to say your name out loud and the furniture started floating, fucking captain ass Weno Owen.
Why is this so soothing and relaxing
angelo parisi the bees smoke to haha
His voice..it's bees..music in the background..
A FEW THINGS
1) It looked like there was honey draining out of the bottom of the frame somewhere, as it was all over the varroa sheet where it met the frame.
2) Do you need queen excluder to to stop the bees from using the comb for anything other than honey.
3) Are the bees happy to renovate the broken wax caps and start again, or do you need to clean the wax caps off, to help the ladies get started again.
1) That can happen on a first harvest if you do the whole frame and not bits at a time, but after that apparently bees usually plug the holes.
2) Yes. If the queen puts larva in the flow frame they'll die during harvest so you need to keep her out of there.
3) Other videos show bees removing the caps and cleaning up after a harvest.
@@carlotta4th what do you mean by holes? Where is it leaking/draining from?
You guys are absolutely awesome and I LOVE the flowsystem. Thank you so much and I wish you all continued success with your innovations.
It's just great. I can't wait to use it. My only questions are, "if the cappings are left intact, how do the bees know we stole the honey and decide to chew the caps off and refill ? Have you ever been left with an empty capped frame?" would scratching the cappings encourage a faster refill ? Sandra
Hi, The bees see in infrared and can see when the honey has been drained out if they see a slightly lighter colour like shown in the video and if uncapped cells have moved to a zig zag shape. Bees keep the hive at a constant 35 degrees Celsius so that’s why they can see it.
@@nathan11
you mean 'ultraviolet' not 'infrared'
@@nathan11 No. it is infrared. Heat.
It's taken us a few years but here in mid summer of 2020 in central Illinois we're watching our new hive which we established with a 5 frame nucleus on the first of May finally starting to bring nectar into the FlowHive honey super having already filled an 8 frame deep super with their winter's supply. Looking forward to enjoying for many years to come. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers.
Why did it take years to fill??
@@InJusticeAustralia I work summers in Alaska and other scheduling issues...but this summer we were finally able to get it all together and actually do the things a conscientious and interested new beekkeeper wants to do. Cheers.
absolutely ingenious, simplifies so much of the harvesting process let alone the mess it saves
i think this flow frame is just genius, so much less time harvesting and disturbing the bees. im fascinated watching the videos.
Thank you Cindy. It is great to hear that you are enjoying our videos :)
Really nice demonstration... I've already purchased a system and am in North America... delivery has been delayed, is there any update on when orders will be fulfilled? Originally expected in October... then December... now it's January. Glad to see this demonstration while I'm "patiently" waiting for the system... looking forward to trying it all out... A++ demonstration here!
Yes... it's here, I posted a review video showing the system. Two days ago, I put it out in my apiary.. we'll see how it goes :)
you're welcome
That seems to be the common complaint. Delay in delivery and when it comes, parts are mismatched and missing pcs.
***** Had problems with my first box, the second one came in perfectly! The bees are still filling them, so have not had a harvest yet. I still like the concept.
***** :)
I've sent the other video you posted on this showing the hives and I must say this was a truly amazing and creative invention.
At 6:00 do the workers notice the honey missing, even with the caps in tact? I didn't expect to see the cap wax remaining apparently undisturbed like that... ?
+Frederick Dunn id like to know that too
+idol hell it doesn't work like that the top frames are for surviving the winter and they will still think there is honey in there until winter when they go to eat the honey and find there us no honey they will sit there and freeze to death
You are very correct... they did indeed just remove the caps from the drained cells and went straight into refilling the frames again. thanks, thought I'd come back and share that you were right! :)
Ive watched your videos on your experience with the flow frames, and I'm glad you came back to share your experience Frederick.
makaielite You're welcome and thank YOU!
Is amazing that someone didnt think of this sooner. It is such a brilliant and simple idea.
the world can't thank you enough. you might have saved the world literally! and I am serious too. these hives could bring the bee keeping industry back and also our plant life!!!
Thank you :)
I got this video on my recommendation.
I wish if I watched this years earlier.
I really loved your invention , keep the good work, and good luck .
There's one straight question I've been working in plastics for 21 years and plastics degrade over time the structure changes either the plastic gives off fumes which might be toxic to bee's or harbour viruses a good idea but needs further research and what happens to the wax the whole point of harvesting is both honey and wax.
Roman Chomenko especially since this isn’t food grade plastic. This is made from a mixed bag of recycled plastic
Tempered glass would be optimal..
Just purchased a flow hive waiting for it to turn up can’t wait my cousin has give me a box of bees with only one frame in absolute full of bees I’m brand new to bee keeping so watching many vids for research I think I’ll make videos for TH-cam along the way for more feedback and info. Thanks for sharing this useful video 👌🏽
How now?
@@elanarc3409 how is my flow hive now ?
@@TheBritishbeeman yup, are better than regular harvest?
@@elanarc3409 I ain’t had the chance to put the super flow on yet 🥹 soon as it turned up I moved the bees from the poly nuke of my cuz into the flow hives brood box and let them fill the frames up then the cold weather came. So I’m now waiting for the end of may or maybe middle of April to put the super flow on. Killing me waiting lol but they are booming in the brood box at this moment. they was in and out with pollen today. So I’m 50/50 weather to do a walk away split then put the flow super on ? Or just put the super flow straight on 🤷🏽♂️ what would u do mate as I’m a newbie
Never kept bees but planning on it one day when I can afford the equipment. I've been wondering how much honey you should leave the bees to eat over winter? I'd rather not feed them sugar but leave them with some honey instead :)
I know this is late, but for anyone else reading. If you set your hives up correctly then the honey you harvest is the honey in a particular box. any honey in the deeps are for the bees during winter.
Kudos from the Czech Republic. I'm happy to see such great and truly ingenious "Aussie-way" invention. I haven't seen all the reactions yet, but I believe there will be a bunch of traditionalists hating it (I'm missing the point why since it can be placed side by side with the classic wooden frame, it does not harm the bees at all and has other unparalleled benefits). But anyway. Again, great job making life of bees and beekeepers easier! :)
Thank you, Jiri. We appreciate your comment and support - Leah.
respect and so much love for all bee keepers, you are doing god's work.
Form where can I get bees to start this work
Bit weird
Whoever invented this is a pure genius
This deserves a Nobel Peace Prize! This is absolutely revolutionary!
Actually it does....there are many first time beekeepers now due to Flow's innovation...
Genius! Like all great inventions I always think 'why hasn't this been done before?' Can't wait till its available in the UK.
Thank you so much for making this piece of art.
Just harvested my flow hive and it was really easy and produced a lot of honey; however, what they didn't show you and what I had a problem with was that a lot of honey actually flowed all the way through the hive until the bottom board had about a quarter of an inch of honey covering it. You can see evidence of this in the video if you look closely to the two tilted pieces of wood that the frame is sitting on. There is honey at the base.
There was so much honey that flowed down that it caused thousands of my bees to leave the hive and collect on the front of the hive for more than two days. I don't know if I did something wrong or if this is a flaw in the hive design. I did have it at about a 5% angle, which is what is recommended.
What kind of plastic are the frames and combs made of?
This is a good question I planned on buying a flow frame but I figured that a free comb would be more natural and pure but if it’s actually equally clean then I’m game both ways
Gardum food grade? I’d double check that if I was you. Google that symbol ur talking about. Prepare ur mind to be blown. No way is it food grade
@@notafuckinpplperson8233 EU legislation is very strict about plastic that is suitable for food contact.
My friend keeps bees. I can attest to the flavor from the flow hive being different, it has the flavor of eating a honey filled comb. It’s pretty amazing, especially for people who enjoy that raw comb flavor.
es muy bonito... pero una pregunta: la estructura es de plástico...? si es así: como afectara a la composición de la miel... ya sabemos que el plástico afecta todo lo que toca y mas si hay temperatura por medio... un saludo
Mira donde te encuentro Gustavo! jaja, totalmente de acuerdo contigo. Esto es un muy buen invento (como invento en si) pero me parece mas un juguete para apicultores curiosos que una verdadera herramienta para la apicultura. Saludos
Exacto, en eso pense cuando mencionaron que la estructura era de plastico, ademas ya no seria sostenible la produccion. Pero por otro lado tambien me preocupa la forma comun de extraer la miel...siempre moriran unas cuantas abejas
Maybe a silly question from a non bee keeper who is interested and thinking of starting with bees: When the honey is drained and the cells are still capped how do the bees know to refill the cells? Do they brake the capping and starting to refill by instinct? It is so amazing and looks so easy with your flow frames. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Gabi, not a silly question at all! The bees are quick to notice when the honeycomb cells are empty - we guess empty cells must feel quite different underfoot if you are a bee.
We have found the bees will sense the cells are empty and straight away begin uncapping, repairing the wax in the cells, and refilling.
You can watch them work on uncapping the end cells as soon as you reset the Flow Frame to the closed position.
Usually they finish uncapping all the cells in a day or two. If the hive is not so busy (the colony is on the smaller size, population-wise) it may take longer.
In our experience, a slower hive can take up to a week to uncap all the cells on the frame. - Sam
What kind of plastic is this made out of?
Will it affect the honey?
Will the plastic deteriorate with the bees and sun thus affecting honey quality?
Hi, we share your concerns around plastics and have worked hard to find the very best food grade materials.
The clear viewing ends of the frames are made from a virgin food grade copolyester. The manufactures have assured us that it's not only BPA-free, but it is not manufactured with bisphenol-S or any other bisphenol compounds.
The manufactures also say that third-party labs have tested this material and the results have demonstrated that it is free of estrogenic and androgenic activity. The centre frame parts are made from a Virgin Food grade Polypropylene which is also free from any Bisphenol compounds and is widely accepted as one of the safest plastics for food contact. It has also been used for many years in beehives for both Brood and Honey combs.
We will keep you informed if anything changes and we use any different materials.
The viewing windows are perspex. The plastic tubes we send with the frames are BPA free, BPS free and free from any Bisphenol compounds. It's a co polyester that is used for BPA free Babies bottles and other food grade products.
The bees wax the Flow Frames completely so the honey does not come into contact with the plastic.
They are designed to last many, many years provided they are kept away from sunlight and treated with care. If the Flow Frames are out of the hive they will need to be stored in a cool, dry, dark location.The Flow Frames have been tested for several seasons and are still functioning well.The Flow Frames plastic is UV sensitive. - Leah
FlowHive How can that possibly be proven? Plastic are estrogenic, especially when in heat, and the heat inside there must be fairly high. The unnatural part of the plastics is very concerning. They said the same thing about GMO, Roundup, margarine, etc. when it was new.
Admittedly, I am skeptical, but I support anything that brings bee awareness and gets everyday people interesting in beekeeping. I am a little worried that the bees will not survive the winter and that there is too much water in the honey, but that has yet to be proven. I will be interested to see how the bees fare through the years with this type of hive. Its an ingenious idea!
The bees always dehydrate the honey before capping it. They simply know when and we don't.
***** You are correct. I meant to say that people will be harvesting uncapped honey because they cannot see the combs in the middle. Bees tend to cap honey from one side to another, or from the middle to the outer sections, so it is possible that people will harvest uncapped honey if they do not take the time to pull the combs out ad inspect then before they drain the honey. But most of the videos and reviews i have seen thus far are from people who regularly inspect the hive, so it may not be a problem.
When you say that the bees chew the wax after honey harvest, what do they do with it while they're filling the frame with honey again?. Also, is the other end of the frame hard up against the hive body? Also, can you tell if the frame is fully capped without taking it out?
*****
Wow, thank you, I've never heard of bees actually consuming wax before, I thought they build comb with it & use it as cappings. I'm a bit concerned about the portion of frame hard up against the observation window & the fact that the bees can't chew any holes through the plastic in order to get good circulation around the hive to ripen the honey, which I believe is very important to the bees. I want to get one of these hives so that when friends come around, I'll be able to show them how I can simply put a hose in the back of my hive & fill a jar of honey without getting stung. How do you reckon I'd go? Would it matter if I thought the frame was fully capped, then I extracted the honey & it wasn't ripe? I've heard that sometimes they'll cap it across the top, down the sides, but leave a huge semi-circle in the middle uncapped. Would it be ok to sell that honey at say, a farmers market? I'm thanking you in advance for your reply, cheers:o)
*****
Thank you, I'll take on board your closing paragraph:):):) Getting back to the wax, I think you said they eat the wax, if they don't eat (consume) the wax, what do they do with it after the honey is harvested? the bees need to be able to fill the comb up with honey again. The brood box could be chock-a-block, the bees need room to move around themselves possibly 60k of them & circulate air right through the hive, where do they keep storing that wax?, time after time, after time.
*****
I just thought I'd touch base with you, it appears that these people wont guarantee delivery, you can read the disclaimer on the crowd funding web page.
Can’t wait for my new Flow Hive to arrive! I got the 7 frame version and a colony waiting.
Absolutely amazing!!!! Great job.
You guys are the greatest. I am sharing this with all my bee keeper friends. Best wishes for your success. It is innovation like this that inspires others to pursue their dreams. Leading by example; you guys are truly the salt of the earth. Thank you.
I think you guys are super geniuses! it's like you just reinvented the wheel. great video!
Херня эта ваша технология!
Times like this I wish I could be really tiny, just imagining the view from inside that tube as the honey drips down would be awsome
I have no idea why this is the case, but personally I've found that bees prefer beeswax to plastic.
*****
That's incredible!!!!!!!
***** They probably also prefer traditional hives to rectangular wooden frames at a convenient beekeeper height, but that's apparently acceptable.
ThePolysyllabist
Thanks, you could be right there, however I found that if bees don't like a certain situation, they'll leave it. I've seen hundreds of wild beehives in all sorts of shapes & size cavities at all different heights. Under a deflated kids pool draped over a tree, the rear of a tv set, a wine barrel, under the floor of a trailer boat, using the bung hole as an entrance, a hollow steel fence post, it just happened to have a hole in it that the bees found convenient. In a tea chest, full of antique car parts, there was no square OR oblong cavity there, just gaps between all the parts. Man that was a big hive. In the hollow of a rolled up piece of carpet. Under a barbeque. Then there must be well over a hundred of wall cavity hives I've seen & removed.
***** We just ordered our hive boxes for this year (traditional ones) and we ordered wax foundations. Plastic transfers cold temperatures more and our bees are really struggling through our (Canadian) winters, especially these past two record-breaking cold years. Some keepers, us included, have the ability to store hives indoors over winter, which may help. This idea is brilliant, but I still have a few concerns, including the added plastic content and the lower wax production - I make candles so I'm excited about having the wax. By law, any honey sold here also has to be filtered - I doubt that this would be an exception.
Donna Kovacs
Hi Donna, well done, your on the right track there. The more I read, the more questions there are. Apparently the flow channel has to be washed out, I don't know how often, apparently you use a bottle brush & warm water while the frame is still on the hive. That sounds sticky & messy, not to mention time consuming.
best bee hive & Honey harvesting the world has ever seen Kudos and salute
What is the longest you've run the hive without taking the frame out to wash/clean it? Surely there is some measure of honey that remains in the bottom channel (despite the self drain feature shown near the end)? Love the invention, great work!
Honey is the only food in nature that doesn't go bad so it is no big deal if it sits in there
I think that is only true if it stays at the right moisture content; which is why the bees cap the honey when it has evaporated enough of it's water, but before it has candied.
Jeremy Connor Honey has been found in tombs in Egypt to be as fresh and as good as today's honey. It last forever. Heat can boil the sugar out but you are then talking about honey's boiling point not just sitting in a hive. Keep in mind, bees will eat what they need if the hive is left alone. This is their food too and we are robbing their store house. They wouldn't let it go bad even it it did.
***** I believe the Egyptian honey was stored in a container (just Googled it). Therefore my concerns about the honey isn't when in concentrated form, but rather when kept in an extremely thin layer, which the bees cannot access to clean. I asked the creators or anyone with experience with the flow hive during testing because surely they have already seen this matter IRL with the frames, it might be a non issue as you suggest. Cheers.
Am a beekeeper.
Put some honey on a plate in your living room on a shelf and it will get dusty. It will last forever and ever or until the ants find it whichever comes first. Thousand year old honey? How much?
I got some 3 yr old I'll sell you.
It's premium. Wayyy better than fresh.
Starting to get it?
"Real" honey crystalizes.
It's still honey but you'd have to heat it up to make it liquid again.
Want some now? Cut it with a knife honey.
Beautiful job! You guys have done a great job creating this.
17/01/2016
Meu amigo muito bom o quadro gostei muito
Onde comprar e quanto custa um quadro?
grato
Antonio
absolutely blown away! and in the past few days I've found a handful of local independent beekeepers, who are successfully over-wintering colonies at 9000+ feet elevation!! so i KNOW the dream is a reality and am more eager than ever to help the honey bee resurgence in the High Rockies of Colorado!!!
So exciting!
Great idea guys, I just have one question
@ 5:52 if the surface made from the wax caps remains undisturbed how do the bees know that the honey is gone ? how will they replace it ?
I was thinking about this also
He said the bees notice theres no honey, take caps off and use the wax to recoat the combs in about 2 days. Then they start filling it with honey again.
I cannot wait to get my Flow Hive here in New Hampshire, USA!!! Great video, Great Job guys!!!!
Thanks for all information شكرا لك على المعلومات القيمة
Absolutely unreal! Thanks so much for this really well thought out and constructed design.
I’m thinking about purchasing one after watching all your videos!
mmmm i want me some honey. will have to research bee keeping. this looks like a neat gadget to have.
Amazing! We made our pledge and can't wait to receive the complete set!
This is a really cool idea, but I am concerned about the long-term safety issues with consuming honey stored in plastic cells.
I was concerned that the capping would prevent the bees from refilling the cells. Good to know they will notice and chew the cap off to refill. Thank you for addressing that.
looks so damn good, I want bees!
I stumbled upon this after watching some of your other videos. THIS is the answer to the question I had from the moment I saw your hive. The question was obvious "Isn't it extremely un-hygienic to leave an open jar and an open spout on the hive like that attracting dust dirt and insects?" The answer is; one doesn't. It's an on-demand thing not a continual flow.
Once it's empty, do you replace the whole thing? What about the wax? What do you do with the wax? I need close captions please or I'll just keep asking questions. Where or how do you get the bees to come to the flow box? Does it need the queen? Does the flow box need to be single or two boxes are better? Where do the bees keep the larvaes in the other hive or in the same box? If the same box, prefer two boxes top for flow honey and the bottom box for making babies? Sorry for asking too many questions. I'm too hungry to learn. Love it. I'll like to teach my homeschoolers. Perfect education. Thanks😉☺️😊
Jackie Flynn Hi Jackie, it's great you have a lot of questions. No, apparently the bees fill it up again, I'm not sure what happens to the wax in the mean time. You need to get a colony of bees that includes a queen. A beekeeping class is highly advisable. All the brood raising (babies) happens in the brood box (the bottom box). The brood box & honey box are separated by a queen excluder, that keeps the queen out of the honey box. The bees will only store honey in the top box if the beekeeper is successful in raising a good colony of bees. Plus you need plenty of blossom & good weather. There are a few challenges in beekeeping, AFB, SHB, wax moth, varoa mite, Chalk Brood Disease, Nosema, Swarming, just to name a few. Oh, depending where you live, you may need to be registered as a beekeeper, even with only one hive. Good luck with your homeschoolers, bye
Brice Cook Oh my - are all these diseases transfered into the honey?
***** and Jackie Flynn: bees will naturally reprocess wax - I just want to be sure that they recognize these cells as being empty and reprocess the wax as mentioned in the video. With locally having lost up to 75% and 100% of some apiaries, we don't have excess colonies to gamble with.
Jackie Flynn from a fellow homeschooler, beekeeping is a great educational experience! :D Whether you keep hives or not, look into joining your local beekeeping association, even with your kids, if they are old enough to sit through the meetings! Maybe even start kid/beginner level meetings within your homeschool group and learn together! We've learned lots, too, by getting our own veils and smoker and helping a friend with her hives! A second smoker isn't necessary but can come in super handy when the guard bees get to be a little too curious about the stranger(s) in their yard!
Amazing! Great job! As a beekeeper in the US Virgin Islands. Gotta get with the program and place my order!
Got $700 for one deep and one super with frames and the free time to assemble and paint absolutely every piece?
Im confused, dont you need to uncap them, otherwise bees will think that the cells are full and wont fill them up again?
Hi Samuils, we have found the bees will sense the cells are empty and begin the uncapping, re-waxing and refilling process straight away. Usually they finish uncapping all the cells in a day or two. A busy hive will uncap all the cells in a day or two. If the hive is not so busy it may take longer. We have seen a not so busy hive take a week to finish uncapping the cells on the outside frames. After they have uncapped the cells they will begin the process of refilling the cells with honey. Please let me know if you have any other questions - leah
FlowHive Thanks I had no idea taht bees do that. Thanks for the answer.
FlowHive -- why not help the bees out and scrape the caps off yourself so the bees get a head start on cleaning everything?
Great video and thanks for sharing your user experience with the flow hive cells. Looks like a fantastically simple setup for extraction and bee friendly use. Such a great design for the flow system.
it is a darling, Thanks
Have A Blessed 2016
Have you tested the amount of honey harvested over 1 season against a standard one?
I can imagine the bees not having to rebuild comb each time you take honey means there is a quicker turn around for them. I'm not a beekeeper btw so I'm not sure of specific terminology.
are you guys sure they will notice that the honey is missing or they will starve to death in the winter ?
Jim, leaving enough honey for the bees over winter is so important and applies to all beekeeping. Your bees need honey to get them through the times when there is no nectar available. The number of frames of honey that you should leave depends on your climate. You should consult local beekeepers as to how much they leave for their colonies over the winter.
We have found the bees will sense the cells are empty and begin the uncapping, re-waxing and refilling process straight away. Usually they finish uncapping all the cells in a day or two. A busy hive will uncap all the cells in a day or two. If the hive is not so busy it may take longer. Please email us at info@honeyflow.com if you have any other questions - leah
Thank you for replying with this useful information! I really want to start beekeeping and i think for 1 home 6 of your frames 'which are on a very good price' will give me a good amount of honey.
Yes, I would think so. You can expect to harvest about three kilos (6.5 lb) per frame (more if the bees really build each frame out). If you have six frames in your super box then you can expect to harvest at least 18 kilos (39 lbs) when every frame is full. We have found that a super usually fills well within a month during the spring and summer. Although this depends on the amount of nectar available for the bees and how strong the colony is. (We have had Flow™ Supers fill in a week during peak times of the flowering season). - leah
Also Jim, in cold climates it would not be good for the frames to leave them on ll winter...they should be treated like any other surplus honey super...removed and stored. The remaining boxes (per your climate and local recommendation will be ample supply of honey AND less real estate for them to keep warm.
yea ,just leave the short hole/ bottom brood box! that's there natual split hive/food store/ect.. top is yours!
Wow, I am so impressed!!! I have a totally novice question; should you leave one frame alone to allow a fresh brood to be 'born'? Otherwise how does the colony survive?
Awesome invention ;O)
Man, such an amazing design, I have watched pretty all of the flow hive harvest video during the weekend and WOW, just WOWW
How clever!! :D
Geez. Why did you show the "cracking" from the front?! That's how we always see it. You should have shown the cells coming apart from the SIDE.
But how do the bees react to the broken caps? How do they find out there is no more honey behind the caps? Do they smell the loss or something?
makes me want to keep bees. Too bad I am in Hong Kong
Boris Chan why to bad, you could do it, right?
Do.... do you have any idea what Hong Kong is?
Jason Markson the problem is, there are no place that we can do such thing unless we are filthy rich
My grandmother would have loved this invention. She was a beekeeper. RIP
If the cappings are undisturbed, how do the bees know to rip them open to put more honey in after it is drained? Is the plastic a good substitute for the hundreds of compounds that are in natural beeswax? What if the honey crystalizes? And lastly, will this just promote lazy beekeeping? Will people not check the brood boxes for diseases and pests if they are afraid of being stung? I am just really concerned here for the future of beekeeping and would appreciate these questions being answered..
I was wondering the same thing
+DaleTheChicken
I can't answer all of them, but here is what I think.
1. Bees know when the nectar is less than 18% water content to cap the cells, so I'm guessing they just know. Plus I'd imagine that bees can feel the difference between filled cells and unfilled cells, but I don't know if they can.
2. The only thing I've heard is plastic will alter the honey and do something like fermentation, than glass. Hence the reason you see most people put it in glass jars. My assumption is that is the only affect. However, I do not know, but for kicks and giggles, I think I will ask the my state's bee inspector and see what he knows. The thing is its been proven that beeswax is good for humans, so by not having that, people lose a small industry.
3. The bees will still eat crystallized honey. I saw one bee keeper that will make sugar cakes and his bees survive. The sugar cake is merely granulated sugar mixed with a little water to make it bond together.
4. I think it depends on the beekeeper. I check my hive at the absolute most when its the swarm season, but back off when the nectar flow is low. My cousin's neighbor has a hive and they haven't checked it once and lost their bees. The few remaining ones will probably die this winter.
5. Hopefully if they are afraid of being stung, they either wear all of the equipment, or they don't have bees. I don't like getting stung so I wear all of the equipment.
Don't take this as gospel. I'm a first year beekeeper and I'm sharing what I have watched and learned. Most of my knowledge is coming from either the state bee inspector, or my bee "professor" that has been keeping bees his entire life. With the biological questions, such as your second question, take those answers with a big grain of salt. I don't know them and I'm just putting two and two together hoping I get 22.
+GoBlue576966 Just FYI... honey does NOT go rancid. We have found remains of crystallized honey used by the ancient Egyptians and it still capable of being eaten.
Ferment! Thats the word I can never remember and its a huge difference.I even had to sit here and think for a minute about what the word is, ugh. I should probably change my post. So I don't cause any confusion.
This is one of best thing about bee keeping I have come across.Very clean honey.Now where do I get this flow hive.
BEATIFUL .... MEXICO!!!
I imagine it's less stressful to the bee's no smoke so they don't get in a panic and drink a lot of honey and they have less comb to rebuild. I'm new to beekeeping and I'm sold.
Yeah? Only around 700 dollars (almost that in u.k. pounds so imagine its about 850 bucks!) Still its less work to extract the honey so swings and roundabouts!
Deaf....please close captions. Thanks
Hi Jackie, our captions are up now, apologies for the delay.
Thank you Jackie... people often forget....
yes they do. I appreciated the close captions and it really helps alot. Thank you. :)
Jackie Flynn You're welcome :)
I wish they make it in the USA. I didnt want to order now because I have to wait til Dec 2015 to come here. sigh.......
Fascinating (Aussie) invention. Kudos guys. Seriously impressive.
Witamy w Polsce :) th-cam.com/video/MUwJQwlBz7g/w-d-xo.html
Can't wait for ours to come in the mail. We got in on the Early bird special.
Early bird special? How? When?
$700+ for this system is way too expensive.
Keep in mind that normal hives go for $300-400 for a hive that size (brood plus honey cells), and that’s not even including to cost of the Honey extractor (spinning machine). So it really isn’t that much more expensive, and you’re eliminating a lot of time cleaning wax and caps out of the honey. You just extract the honey straight from the hive. No mess, no filtering, no fuss.
This thing never cease to amaze me :3
now try this as a beekeeper with 350 frames of honey. 30 minutes a frame.... that will take forever. in other words use traditional frames... this is just a gadget
Wow it's almost like industrial scale requires industrial solutions. The design of this is so that the frame stays in the hive and the user can harvest without disturbing it, obviously if you're in a more professional application that convenience isn't a concern to you.
Have you ever heard of working in parallel?
I'm assuming you have to pull the frame from the super to see if the cells are capped? Or is there some other way you check it with your frames?
Couple more months and all be buying mine can’t wait!
It IS a wonderful thing. Great invention. I know nothing about beekeeping and live in a city so there's no way I can try this. I wish I could.
Hi Thomas, there are many beekeepers keeping bees in suburban and urban areas, this is increasing all over the world. There are definitely people out there keeping bees on restaurant rooftops in the CBD, inner-city balconies and small suburban backyards. There are several factors to be considered when locating your hive, and you will need to contact your local council to find out what the regulations are for your locale. Here is our guide to locating your hive for more details - www.honeyflow.com/.../where-to-locate-your.../p/159
If you have any questions or require any further information or assistance please let us know. - Leah.
Ah, thanks for this. I didn’t realise these individual frames could be removed for inspection.
Fascinating! I have a hive and I'd like to try a couple of frames. I wonder if they have both deep and honey/western supers
Beautiful ! Оригинальная и интересная конструкция.Хотелось бы попробовать.Thanks.
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Legend has it, the honey is still flowing.
Ok - the last five seconds answered a burning question! So could one scrape the caps off anyway or best to leave as is?
Amazing invention!
Can i buy this honey hive online, i am interested in doning this business
7:35 yea, but will the bees not get their legs and wings stuck when you close the cells when they are inside them working to clean them out?
ok looks awesome. i have a question though. the honey is gone, and the caps remain. the bees remove the caps and refill. how do they remove the wax, and what do they do with it. this would not be something they are used to. do they store it somewhere, eat it, or what. blows my mind how much your getting from just one comb. cheers.
Excellent info. So helpful. Thanks.