hello i am Stephen and i am very interest in bee keeping i have took my first step and been to my local club in Doncaster i would just like to know if these flow hives are ok in the uk or not as we have a colder climate than in Australia where they are made thank you all replies will be grateful thanks
Hi Stephen and welcome to the Forum
I know its not a very beekeeping way of doing things but I generally try to resist giving an opinion on something I have not actually done myself (I will politely ignore the unheard guffaws of laughter from anyone reading this who knows me!!).
I have not used a Flow Hive. Those few I know who have, reported some issues but its second hand opinion. Personally, from what I have read it seems to offer a potential answer to a problem I don't have regarding harvesting honey, but others are probably more qualified to comment
The history of beekeeping is rich pickings for a huge variety of vessels to keep bees in and they will demonstrably tolerate a huge variety of shapes and sizes of novel designs, often merrily promoted by their originators as being the solution to all beekeeping problems - which nearly always quickly become consigned to history and are never heard of again apart from illustrations in old catalogues.
Whether Flow Hives may fall into this category only time will tell. When starting out my general advice would be to keep a colony in locally used conventional equipment to get the basics under your belt, then other local beekeepers will be able to give you relevant advice based on their experience of similar kit. You can then branch out however you wish, but with a decent grounding to support you.
If you initially start out on an individual route unfamiliar to others you may find an understandable reluctance to offer or provide support in keeping bees in what to others is unfamiliar equipment. Worse, they may offer advice which actually doesn't apply to working with your particular choice of bee home.
I do have personal knowledge of several once- beekeepers over the years who have asked me to provide bees to stock particularly novel hive types. Without exception, none are still keeping bees in them.
I'm only saying...
