(gentle music)
- Hey, everybody, today we're gonna be looking at
exactly what is a beehive, show you the similarities
and the differences between our Flow hive
and a traditional Langstroth hive.
This behind me is a Flow hive
and this is a traditional Langstroth hive,
which is the most widely used hive in the world.
They are, in many ways, very similar,
as the Flow hive uses a traditional Langstroth design
with some modifications that allow us to harvest the honey
without opening the hive and disturbing the bees.
The major components of a beehive are a bottom board,
a brood box, brood frames, a queen excluder,
a honey super, an inner cover and a lid.
So let's take a closer look at a brood box.
So the Flow hive has the same brood box
or brood nest, as it's sometimes called,
as the traditional Langstroth hive.
The brood box is where the queens, the drones,
and the workers live.
And the queen lays her eggs here.
The word "brood" refers to the eggs, the pupae,
and the larvae that will develop to become
fully grown bees.
Brood frames usually have a variety of bees
at different stages along with some pollen
and nectar stores.
Mostly here in Australia and in milder climates,
one brood box is often enough as for many months
of the year, there is a nectar flow.
But depending on how long and intense the nectar flow
is in your area, it will change how much space you need
to give your bees.
It's about making sure your bees have got sufficient
space in their home, but not too much space that they
can't defend themselves against pests and diseases.
It seems to be more common practice in the United States
to use a double brood box.
We encourage the use of foundationless frames
in the brood box to allow the bees to build
their own comb.
Many beekeepers use wax foundation with a prestamped
cell size for the bees to build on,
however, there's growing evidence that allowing your bees
to build the brood comb naturally results
in healthier colonies.
There are many different ways and methods
for keeping your bees.
For every two beekeepers, there'll be three opinions.
Remember, connecting with your local bee group
will give you the best knowledge and support
for what works in your area.
Now let's take a look at the honey super.
The honey super is where the flow hive and the Langstroth
hive differ, although they serve the same function,
as a place for the bees to store only honey.
With the use of an excluder, the queen stays in the brood
box at the bottom, so she cannot lay eggs
in the honey super.
The Flow hive super has the unique flow frames
and the custom design box with the rear and side
viewing windows being able to see into your hive,
check on your girls, and see when the frames
are ready for harvest.
The Flow frames are partially formed, food grade plastic,
honeycomb matrix that allows you to harvest the honey
by turning a key.
The cells then split horizontally while the bees are
undisturbed on the comb's surface.
The honey flows down and out of the hive and into a jar,
fresh, raw, unfiltered honey ready for use on your table,
all without opening the hive.
If you'd like to see Cedar taking us through
all of the individual elements of the Flow hive,
click here.
A traditional Langstroth hive uses the same frames
in the honey super as it does in the brood box,
which you then have to go through an extraction process
to get your honey.
This consists of opening your hive, removing the frames,
brushing off all the bees, taking them to a processing
shed or a kitchen, cutting off the wax cappings
with a heated knife, spinning the frames in a centrifuge,
filtering out the dead bees and wax,
taking the frames back to the hive, and then having
to clean up all the mess.
We get asked a lot if taking the honey from the supers
is stealing the bees' food.
Bees our capable of collecting large amounts of nectar
when there are lots of flowers blooming and these
periods are known as a honey flow.
When there's a good honey flow on, it's possible to
harvest many kilos of honey in just a few weeks
without leaving the bees hungry.
That being said, it's important to note
that over winter, you must leave the super full of honey
so the bees have food when there's none to be found
in their surrounds.
In cold climates, your bees may need more than one
super full of honey to survive winter.
It's vital that you consult your local beekeepers
to ensure you're preparing your hives appropriately
for winter in your area.
Finally, it's important to know with both types
of beehives, you must regularly check your bees
by doing a brood inspection, making sure
your bees are in good health.
How often this is needed depends on the area
in which you live.
Here on the northeast coast of Australia, we recommend
a thorough brood inspection about twice a year.
We'll be demonstrating how to do a brood inspection
in a later episode.
To keep up to date with all the latest episodes,
please subscribe to the Flow Hive YouTube channel.
And if you have any questions or suggestions,
pop them in the box below and we'll do our best
to get back to you as soon as we.