As is the character with every other beekeeper in the nation , my friends have bombarded me with videos and Facebook posts about the Flow Hive . As a biodynamic beekeeper on my farm Mockingbird Meadows , I generally viewed the spot negatively , but when I began to compose this opinion piece , I decide hunt for a more balanced perspective . I ’m not sure my opinion about the Flow Hive has changed , but I ’d like to share some of the positives I see with it , along with the drawback .
Flow Hive Benefits
On the plus side , lease ’s start with the toll deliverance , which is actually a considerable increase over almost any other kind of bee equipment available . The Flow Hive keep the beekeeper from buy or lease potentially expensive harvesting equipment .
Another positive is the popularity and good selling of the musical theme itself . The Flow Hive was the most successful Kickstarter run of all fourth dimension , and there are a lot of eye on bee and beekeeping as a result . The result may be more beekeepers and more habitat for bee in areas that would not otherwise have seen them .
With all that order , I still believe the negative of the Flow Hive outweigh the overconfident .
Problem No. 1: The Hive Setup
The Flow Hive is a fixture that sits above a unconstipated bee beehive to roll up love . One of the great criticisms comes from conventional beekeepers , who detect it of import to launch the brood chamber often to keep the bee in phone line . On our farm , we observe a more natural beekeeping method acting and do n’t get into the brood chamber very often , if at all , so this is n’t a problem for me .
However , I do take issuing with the setup of the Flow Hive , which only uses one recondite for the brood sleeping room . In any situation where the bee are being kick upstairs sustainably , they will need either two deep boxes or three medium boxes for their brood chamber . This allows them sufficient elbow room to maintain both the brood nest and wintertime stores . The creators of Flow Hive live in Australia — I’m unfamiliar with the beekeeping needs there , but here in the Midwest , one boxful does n’t do it . I can only take for granted that this ’s why they needed to add a queen excluder to their frame-up . In my sentiment , if you ’re using a queen excluder , you ’ve done something wrong . The female monarch should naturally stay in the brood chamber if you have n’t disturbed it and she has enough way .
Problem No. 2: Constant Harvesting
Flow Hive
The Flow Hive demand constant harvest home . On our farm , we do n’t keep swarming , but we also do n’t countenance the bees to run out of room for honey storage . If they run out of places to keep their spoils , they often decide they need to upgrade their digs , which is what induce them to swarm . When beloved storage gets full in the Flow Hive , you ’d have to harvest to keep the bee happy . alas , this contradicts one of our foundational beekeeping strategies here at Mockingbird Meadows . We do n’t harvest until the end of the season because we trust the bees postulate clock time to fill their wintertime memory board . We believe that they need access code to everything they ’ve harvest over the season to keep the nutriment deviate over winter and prevent digestive disorder that can contribute to die - off .
Problem No. 3: Use Of Plastic
In biodynamic beekeeping , we do n’t use anything unnatural in the hive . For us , the Flow Hive is out but because it use plastic foundation . In my experience , the bee will do almost anything for head off this type of violation in their populace . The makers of the beehive have taken charge to employ BPA - free credit card , but I ’m still not comfortable with an unnatural substance being in my beehive in the heat of summer .
Forget The Flow Hive
In the end , I think the Flow Hive will lose popularity after it ’s had its day . Most folk who think they will be keep bees without any work will become quick disenchanted . This beehive setup will necessitate all of the same beekeeping work that any other hive structure requires . The ease of harvesting may even impart folks more unfastened to predator onset and robbings . I unfeignedly consider that the makers of the Flow hive are interested in bee wellbeing . Unfortunately , this set - up prioritizes ease for the human ahead of health and well - being of the bee .
I believe the bee has agree to partner with beekeepers , but we have enter an age where we are no longer holding up our goal of that buy . We ’ve already commercialized this relationship with current formal beekeeping methods that let in money economize estimation , like feeding shekels water to the bee rather than giving them their own love . With this new beehive , we ’d be even more removed from interacting with the tool act upon to make us a piece of fluid gold . I fear that their wellness will continue to suffer rather than be ameliorate by this novel invention .
