Poh Ling Yeow Instagram – My first @flowhive harvest and it was a big one – around 10kg so far this Summer and positively STOKED!!!! For those unfamiliar with flow hives, the super box where the honey is stashed, is made of bpa free plastic combs with a seam in the middle of every row of cells, which can be cracked with a key. The honey flows directly out of taps into jars, leaving the bees undisturbed and the wax capping* left behind so it can be re-used by the bees. As you can see the bees stay very calm and I don’t have to use a suit or veil during harvesting. In traditional hives, the frames of wax combs are removed from the hive, pierced and centrifuged for the honey to be harvested. You’ll notice the bees towards the end of the reel look a tiny bit swarmy. Usually they will dart back and forth during the day with a straight flight path to and from the hive opening. Here they are doing figures of 8 because many babies have been born and orientating before they take their first flight to begin their life of foraging. *The capping is done by the bees only when enough moisture has evaporated from the honey. You should only harvest honey when a frame is 80% capped or you run the risk of it fermenting quickly. You should also only ever harvest 20% of the total stash or you will be diminishing the food security of your colony. Thank u to my apiary mentors @xarchaeceya & @mademoisellebee06 for continuing to teaching me the bee mysteries ♥️ PS The warmth from a jar of honey that flows directly out of a hive is now officially one my favourite things !