For the Beekeepers

I read about this and was fascinated. I thought the beekeepers on the board might be interested.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/...oney_on_tap_making_beekeeping_easier_for.html

Okay that is cool! Depending on the cost I would love to have one.

It's my understanding that they are about $600 per set of frames.

Thank you - I am going to start saving up for one because I would love to have honey on tap.

I am so not thrilled with that Flow Hive. It's a novelty. I see serious management issues with it. But hey, if you want to fiddle and you have only one hive, I guess go for it.

reinbeau said:

I am so not thrilled with that Flow Hive. It's a novelty. I see serious management issues with it. But hey, if you want to fiddle and you have only one hive, I guess go for it.

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Can you elaborate? I am very curious!

I've got a friend in Florida who wants a hive, but apparently there is a year's long waiting list to get a permit. Considering the colony collapse issue here in the US and the fact that there is a lot of commercial farming in Florida, you'd think they'd want as many people as possible keeping bees.

dixiedragon said:

Can you elaborate? I am very curious!

I've got a friend in Florida who wants a hive, but apparently there is a year's long waiting list to get a permit. Considering the colony collapse issue here in the US and the fact that there is a lot of commercial farming in Florida, you'd think they'd want as many people as possible keeping bees.

Click to expand...

The problem in Florida are Africanized honeybees. You need to be properly taught how to handle the fact that your hive may need to be managed and requeened if it shows signs of Africanization. That's something we don't have to deal with up here in the frozen north, thankfully.

As for the Flow hive, honeybees aren't easy. They're not something you can tap and harvest from. Our interference on so many levels is what has brought them to the position they're in now. Remember, they are livestock. We brought them here. For many, many years they were good here - however, someone introduced the varroa mite back in the mid 80's and it's been all downhill since then. It's a lot to go into here, but basically the mite vectors virii throughout the hive, and the bees, having now compromised immune systems (due to our industrial food system's use of agricultural chemicals) they can't withstand the virii and they die.

It's interesting to note that hobby beekeepers in urban areas have fewer problems with their hives than those who live in more rural agricultural areas.

Back to the Flow Hive - here's an interesting link that discusses quite well my thoughts on the matter. It's a worthy read.

We have hives in three locations, two here in southeastern MA and one up in Maine. We've been keeping bees for about 12 years now. It's always been a management learning curve, but now it's pretty tough. It used to be you put bees in your yard, let them be for the most part, harvest the honey in the fall (leaving enough for them) and life went on. Not anymore. I see people jumping on this bandwagon, never properly learning how to manage their bees, spending way too much money on fancy gadgetry, getting some honey and the bees succumbing over the winter (which is fairly common now) and then they're scratching their heads wondering why.....

Ann I can understand your concerns. This would be the only hive that we would have and we already knew that they need honey to survive the winter as it is their food. At any rate I quite like this idea and from what I saw is the easiest on them physically as you are not disturbing them when you harvest.

Lindy, you have to go into the hive. You really do. You need to check them. You need to see that she's laying. You need to see that she's laying a good brood pattern. You need to see that the cappings are nice and clear, that there's no sign of disease. You need to make certain they have proper stores. This does not eliminate the need to go into the hive. All it does is make it 'easier' to harvest the honey. That's it. So go for it - but don't be a bee haver. Be a beekeeper.

Reinbeau - thanks for the info! That is very interesting! I would love to shadow a beekeeper for a few days and see all of that stuff.

Thank you for the information.

I agree w Reinbeau. It makes honey easier to harvest, but it definitely does not make for hands-off beekeeping. The designers of this hive live in a mild climate, so their beekeeping style is different than beeks in a temperate climate. I harvest only when I know my bees can spare the honey. That means getting into the hive and verifying.

Here's a video on some of it's drawbacks. Basically, honey harvest isn't the most time consuming activity in beekeeping and is usually the most fun, so it's not worth trying to make it a little quicker. Also, there are many thousands of bees flying around your hive. A spout flowing honey into a jar would attract most of them all over and in the jar. You also miss out on collecting beeswax for things like soap and balms. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but I suspect most beekeepers would prefer the cheaper/simpler way.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF-kkb9jG1A[/ame]