It has become one of the most popular campaigns to ever hit Indiegogo and has even captured nearly $6 million from over 13,000 backers, but it seems that not everyone has jumped on the Flow Hive bandwagon.
According to HuffPo, American apiarists have stated that the Flow Hive is overpriced and its promotional video oversimplifies beekeeping.
President of the New York City Beekeepers’ Association, Andrew Cote explained,“It’s a rather expensive gimmick, and it would not behoove any series beekeeper to buy this product. There’s a lot more to keeping bees than turning a tap. I am bit concerned that this may result in sort of a Christmas puppy or an Easter bunny syndrome.”
Californian beekeeper, Mike Harrel, remarked,“I don’t see it being affordable, sustainable, or really a long term solution to harvesting honey.”
Vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, Gene Brandi also stressed caution against buying the invention, because it doesn’t show how difficult beekeeping really is. “I think you need to have the interest and the passion in bees first before you even think about buying one of these things.”
Cote also explained that most beekeepers harvest honey only once a year, and that harvesting is just a small part of beekeeping. More importantly overcrowded bees may also create a swarm and leave their colony.
Despite the project’s easy-to-use description, Cedar Anderson, the co-creator of Flow Hive, has warned potential backers about the work required for beekeeping. “We’ve always stressed that people who buy a Flow Hive need to know what they are doing.”
Even though he is against the project all together, Harrel shared that he thinks it’s great people want to support bees and work against their decline. “Bees need help surviving through the issues they have, not by making honey collections simpler for a backyard beekeeper.”
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