Bees need a LOT of comb surface area for the evaporation that is a
signifiant part of the process that turns nectar into honey.
As a beekeeper managing a honey-producing hive, I provide this needed
surface area by adding many more empty honey frames to the hive than the
bees will ultimately fill with finished honey. The bees bring in nectar,
place it in these frames, and eventually concentrate it down to fewer
frames of capped honey which I then harvest.
It would not be practical from a cost perspective to purchase enough of
these frames to fully outfit all of my hives.
An alternative approach would be to purchase 4 or 8 frames to place at the
"core" of the honey section of the hive, which the bees would then fill
with honey, and which I would then drain repeatedly to harvest. I would
drain, the bees would refill, I would drain, the bees would refill. It
would probably work (the bees prefer honey stored centrally above the brood
nest) but it sounds very time-consuming to me.
Perhaps the drains could be left open at all times later in the season to
simplify this process - I don't know if this would work. I would have
concerns about the bees filling the comb with "not-yet-quite-honey" (high
moisture content) that would ferment and spoil. Only experimentation could
prove out this technique.
I'd like to see the results of a careful study before I go investing in the
needed equipment. I already have all the equipment I need for my current
harvest method. By the way, I would still open up and inspect my hives
regularly so I know what's going on inside, as would the bee inspector
(once or twice per season for the inspector). The "Flow" frames would not
change the number of times my (reasonably well but not over-managed) hives
are opened and/or manipulated.
To reiterate what I said earlier, these look neat for the hobbiest
beekeeper who is the primary consumer of his/her own honey. I, however,
don't fit into that category ;)
HTH
Pete Chrisbacher
Wilmington DE
On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 10:30 AM, Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us> wrote:
>
> On Mar 1, 2015, at 7:43 AM, Peter Chrisbacher wrote:
> ...
> >
> > That said, I don't plan to buy one any time soon as they don't really
> make
> > sense for a beekeeper running 30 hives ;)
>
> Is that just because they cost more, or for some other reason?
>
> This thread is the first I've heard of this, and it sounds like a really
> intriguing idea to me. I do wonder how well the fancy moving frames hold up
> long-term, though.
>
> Ginda Fisher
>
> expecting yet more snow.
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