Watch Facebook Live: What type of brood frame is best?
The timber brood frames that come with our Flow Hives can be used in 4 different ways:
1. Foundationless frames
Assemble the frame with some glue and the supplied nails. Glue or nail the provided timber strip into the slot in the top bar of each frame to act as a comb guide – they are now ready for your hive. The comb guide sets the starting point from which the bees draw out natural comb.
Four tips for successfully using foundationless frames:
When you add them to your brood box, press the frames tightly together so that the spacing is correct for the bees to start their comb. Leave any excess space towards the edges of the box.
Make sure the hive is flat and level horizontally (ie: from side to side direction) so that as the bees build comb it is more likely to hang inside the frame.
If you are starting from scratch with a new colony and empty brood frames, inspect the brood once a week to make sure they are building comb on the guides to avoid cross comb. If the comb starts to wander off the guide, push it back into place with your hand or hive tool. Generally, once your bees build a few straight combs, they will continue to do so on the remaining frames.
When inspecting fresh foundationless comb, keep the frame vertical. Fresh comb is very delicate, be careful not to tilt the frame in such a way that the comb will break off.
Foundationless frames are becoming increasingly popular and have many benefits. For more information check out this great blog post 'Foundationless brood frames' by Hilary Kearney.
Watch: Starting a Flow Hive with foundationless frames
2. Starter strips of wax foundation
This is a similar method to the foundationless frames method outlined above, but instead of using a wooden strip as a comb guide, you use a 20 mm wide strip of wax foundation* to give the bees a starting place for their comb. Melted beeswax can be used to stick the wax strip into the slot in the top bar.
Use a full sheet of wax foundation* and mount it into the frame. To do this you will need to thread wire through the holes in the sides of the frame in order to support the wax. Once the wire is tightened it is usually electrically heated to melt it into the wax foundation sheet. This method gives the bees a sheet to start on so it will be less important to check that they are building straight comb, although they will still build wonky or ‘off-square’ sometimes.
4. Plastic foundation
Use a prefabricated sheet of plastic foundation* and assemble the frame around the plastic foundation. You do not need the wooden strip comb guides for this method. It’s less important that the hive is level in this case, but it’s still a good idea to make sure it’s sitting fairly flat and level. Most beekeepers rub beeswax on plastic foundation as the bees will take to it more quickly.
*Wax foundation and plastic foundation sheets can be purchased from a commercial beekeeping supply store.
“Beekeepers have many opinions on which is the best method. I am a total convert to foundationless frames. It’s a really tedious task waxing and wiring frames. It’s so much easier to let the bees build their own. It leaves the bees making their natural cells sized perfectly for their brood and it’s beautiful to watch them hang their natural comb in their brood nest.
Having said that, in some short-season regions it is important to encourage the bees to get to the nectar flow as quickly as possible. It may be better to provide wax foundation as the bees will complete their brood comb more quickly.”
– Cedar
Beginner Beekeeping Ep 3 - Setting up brood box frames
Want to learn more? Our online beekeeping course features advice from the world's experts, and the free trial includes information on brood frames and foundationless beekeeping. Find out more.
Need extra timber frames?
Spare timber brood frames are always handy to have – whether you’ve captured a swarm, are performing a hive split or just need to swap out some frames for routine maintenance. Check out our timber Foundationless Brood Frames here.
In our experience, either one or two brood boxes work well. In our region (Northern NSW, Australia) we have found that running a single brood box will lead to honey being stored in the Flow Frames much earlier, especially when your bees are using them for the first time.
Choose a sheltered position. In cool climates look for a dry sunny position, in hot climates, the hive will benefit from some shade, particularly in summer. Face the hive entrance away from the prevailing winds.
If you are new to beekeeping, you may not be sure what a good, vs bad, or spotty, brood pattern is. In general, a good brood pattern is one where the queen has laid eggs, larva, or there is capped brood in the majority of the cells (90% or better) on the center area of a frame, leaving few missed cells.
While bees are drawing foundation for the first year, you should provide 10 frames for a 10 frame hive or 8 frames for an 8 frame box. Generally, you should ensure no more than a space of ¼ to â…œ of an inch (6 to 9 mm) between your frames and from other parts of the hive.
Critics have raised concerns that the Flow system might tempt beekeepers to harvest honey too frequently, leaving the bees short of their own food supply.
If another box is placed on top the hive or under the hive, the bees will do one of two things, 1) leave it alone, or 2) their population will thin and disperse into the new space leaving the clustering bees that were caring for young to prepare this new space or clean it up.
Do not use more than one box. If you use more, this can slow down the bee's progress in drawing out comb and give extra, unprotected room for pests to hide in corners, like wax moth or small hive beetles.
The Flow Hive Hybrid is designed to accommodate our patented Flow Frames and four conventional honey frames, allowing you to harvest both fresh honeycomb and Flow honey straight from the hive. It's the best of both worlds.
We recommend using a non/low-toxic exterior-grade paint for the health of your bees. Make sure to paint a minimum of two coats, to ensure your hive is properly weatherproof. Be sure to let each coat dry thoroughly between applications, as per the instructions provided by the paint company.
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. A super usually fills well within a month during the spring and summer (at peak flowering times and production of nectar).
The Flow Frames will fit either an 8 or 10 frame Langstroth. A full “8 frame, deep” Super would take six Flow Frames, and the 10 frame super would take 7 Flow Frames as they are wider than traditional frames. It is also possible to have a combination of traditional Langstroth frames and Flow Frames in the one Super.
If you don't have access to a pressure washer, warm water and a hard-bristled scrubbing brush can be quite effective. Again, set your frame in the open position with the plugs removed. Please note that we do NOT recommend the use of solvents, alcohol, or caustic solutions to clean the frame.
The build-up is caused by the leak back point being clogged (which the bees may do naturally in an attempt to seal any gaps). You can easily free the leak back point using the tongue of the Flow tube, a small stick or kitchen skewer.
To start the hive as a beginner, at least 10,000 bees and one mated queen (also known as a package), or a 5 frame “nucleus” from another beekeeper, with at least 2 frames of brood, 1.5 frames of food and 1.5 empty frames.
The queen has two boxes to lay her eggs through. This means during spring and summer your colony will be able to grow to its full potential. With two brood boxes, there is enough space for your queen to lay as many eggs as she can. This means you won't need to check your hives as often.
The Flow Frame cells are wider and deeper than normal comb cells which means the queen will not lay worker eggs in them. Drone cells are larger than worker cells and occasionally, we have found that a queen will lay drone eggs in the Flow Frame.
The Flow Frames are designed to fit a standard Langstroth deep super. The Flow Super has the same measurements as a Langstroth deep (8 or 10 frame) super. The height of the Flow frame is 242mm; this perfectly fits a Langstroth deep box. The width of the clear frame ends is set to 51mm.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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