A Flow Hive is our term for a standard beehive that has Flow Frames in the honey storage part (super).

A beehive is usually made up of:

• The brood box where the queen bee lays eggs
• The ‘super’ with honeycomb for the storage of honey.

A ‘Flow Super’ is a beehive box using Flow Frames that the bees store honey in.

The Flow Hive is based on the Langstroth hive design.

This consists of a base, brood box, queen excluder, super, inner cover and a roof.

The Flow Frames using the patented Flow technology for easy honey harvesting are what separates a Flow hive from a traditional Langstroth hive.

Our premium Flow Hive 2+ includes extra features to make taking care of your bees even easier, and is manufactured using western red cedar (Thuja Plicata). Sustainably sourced in North America, cedar is a beautiful timber with a remarkably fine and stable grain structure.

Cedar is often used as a hive timber in the USA, UK and other regions, because of its durability and insulative properties.

The wood includes beautiful, rich colour variation ranging from yellowish-white colour to a pale brown through to a richer dark brown. As this product is made from naturally grown resources – each hive will be slightly different in character. You can maintain a natural timber finish by oiling or staining to accentuate its natural colour variations.

Flow Hives are kept in a variety of locations – from small urban areas such as balconies, rooftops and suburban backyards to large rural properties.

The Flow Hive has made backyard beekeeping so much easier as you no longer need extra room and equipment to harvest your honey.

When determining if you can fit a hive in your location, you need to consider giving your bees a clear space at the front of the hive to enter and exit and you will need enough room to access the back of the hive for harvesting and hive inspections.

It’s important to check with your local council’s regulations on urban beekeeping, and consider proximity to neighbours when locating your hive. If they are very close and you think they might have some concerns, it’s worth talking to them first. The offer of an occasional jar of delicious local honey might sweeten things!

It is important to consider the location of your new beehive prior to installing your bees. You can’t move a beehive around your paddock, yard or rooftop easily.

Bees have highly developed navigational skills which are extremely sensitive to location. If the hive is moved only a small distance, they become confused and will return to the original site.

There are three important things to consider when selecting a site for your new hive – your bees, your neighbours and yourself.

The location of your beehive will affect the overall strength of your colony. 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. Ideally, face the entrance in a southerly direction if you’re in the northern hemisphere and northerly direction for the southern hemisphere.

All Flow Hives need to be opened for inspection, just like regular beehives. This is an important activity in keeping your bees healthy.

The number of inspections needed per year varies a great deal. In regions where bees tend to require a high degree of attention, beekeepers open and inspect each hive every month or six weeks during the spring and summer.

Experienced beekeepers observe the behaviour of bees at the hive entrance and can usually judge whether they need to open the hive for a closer look. Brood inspections involve opening up the hive, so you will need protective gear such as a hive tool, smoker, bee suit and gloves for this.

It’s often useful to get in touch with a local beekeeper with regard to how often you should be inspecting your colony, as they’ll have the information most relevant to your area. But remember – opinions can vary quite a bit from one individual beekeeper to the next!

Beekeeping is a fascinating and rewarding hobby, where the discoveries are endless. Plus the honey really is an amazing bonus! If you’re just getting started, we’re here to help – our friendly support team is on hand via email or live chat to get fast answers to your buzzing questions.

Bees rarely find their way into empty beehive boxes, even though they are designed to be a perfect home for them.

There are a number of ways of starting a colony, from buying a package of bees, to receiving a hive split or catching a swarm.

We also have a range of videos and blogs to help you understand the different ways in which you can source bees for your new hive.

Yes! Flow Hives are perfect for setting-up just about anywhere. 

You will need enough space to access the back of the hive for easy harvesting and your bees will require a clear space at the front of the hive for their flight path.

You’ll also need to check-in with local governing bodies to find out if there are any regulations that you need to be aware of.

Yes, beekeeping is a wonderful learning experience, and a Flow Hive is one of the easiest ways to get started! The Flow Hive makes extracting the honey easy. While this saves much of the work involved in keeping bees, you will still need to observe your bees and occasionally open the hive to ensure your bees are healthy. You’ll need protective gear such as a hive tool, smoker, bee suit and gloves to do this.

It’s often useful to get in touch with a local beekeeper, as they’ll have the information most relevant to your area. But remember – opinions can vary quite a bit from one individual beekeeper to the next! Most regions have a beekeepers’ club or association that can advise on whether you need to register your hive and other local relevant regulations. They can also help you to get your hive started and make routine inspections. We encourage you to join a local beekeeping club and check out the online community on the Flow beekeepers Facebook Group.

Although you should not need to smoke the hive when you harvest from your Flow Frames, we do recommend that you use a smoker whilst undertaking beekeeping activities, such as routine inspections of the brood nest. Smoking the hive masks the alarm pheromone and helps to keep your colony calm.

The Flow Hive significantly reduces hive disturbance and the risk of stings while harvesting honey, however all European honeybees are capable of stinging. In general, honeybees only sting when they feel threatened. We recommend sourcing your bees from a reputable breeder to ensure that they won’t be overly aggressive.

Beekeeping is a fascinating hobby which when approached with knowledge, skill and dedication can be incredibly rewarding.

It is important to understand some basic safety guidelines to ensure that your beekeeping experience is a safe and positive one.

Beekeeping suits and other personal protective equipment can offer excellent prevention against bee stings but are not 100 percent effective. It’s important new beekeepers exercise caution when tending to their hives and are comfortable with the fact that sooner or later, all beekeepers get stung.