A "nectar flow" is a period when abundant blossom lets foragers bring in nectar faster than the colony can use it, and the surplus is what a beekeeper harvests as honey. This model shows a simplified hive stack — brood box, optional queen excluder and a stack of supers — whose comb cells fill from pale empty wax through glossy wet nectar to capped honey as foraging bees stream in and out of the entrance.
UK beekeepers often add supers just ahead of a forecast flow (such as oilseed rape or lime) precisely because bees that run out of storage space tend to cluster, become congested and prepare to swarm — sacrificing both the harvest and half the colony.
An interactive 3D beehive that fills its comb with nectar and honey as you control the strength of the nectar flow, how many supers you add, and the pace of the season.
Comb cells shift from pale empty wax through glossy wet nectar to capped honey as foragers stream in from the flower field. Run out of empty comb during a strong flow and the swarm-risk indicator climbs — exactly the congestion that triggers real colonies to swarm.
Raise the nectar flow strength to speed up foraging and comb filling, add supers to keep pace with a strong flow, and use season speed to fast-forward through a multi-day flow. Watch the fill %, honey yield and swarm risk stats respond.
Experienced UK beekeepers "super ahead of the flow" — adding empty boxes before they're strictly needed — because bees that run out of storage space during a strong flow are far more likely to swarm, taking half the workforce (and the harvest) with them.