Beekeeping-Discussion, pics, tips and tricks.
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Camo6
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I'd love to get a hive going in the backyard someday. Would be limited as to where to put it due to regulations.
Is everyone gaining a permit first and have you had any issues doing so?
My neighbour suspected me of dobbing them in to the council when they had a swarm in their cyprus. Had to assure her that I welcomed them as it saved me having to do the work for them, also I hate councils.
Is everyone gaining a permit first and have you had any issues doing so?
My neighbour suspected me of dobbing them in to the council when they had a swarm in their cyprus. Had to assure her that I welcomed them as it saved me having to do the work for them, also I hate councils.
Grainer
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Hey Camo.. pretty sure you are in the same council as me and we are allowed to have 2 hives on the property pending your property size. And some restrictions e.g. 2 m from fence and 6ft fences but if on ur roof there are no fence limitations.. i have a flat roof so it makes it easy
wide eyed and legless
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I had read that the bees are for sale in August, didn't know if that meant buy the Queen and she lays the eggs making up the rest of the tribe, or buy the Queen and the rest will come, or it was a case of buy the whole lot.
Ducatiboy stu
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Yes you buy a Queen, then split a hive and put the new queen in the split. Without a queen you wont have a hivewide eyed and legless said:
I remember we used to get queens mailed to us in a small wooden box with mesh either end
nosco
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My mum has a hive as part of a collective which means all she has to do is have the hive at her house and the guys running the collective do all the work and she gets a cut of the honey. Works well with her permaculture garden. The hive split last spring. It was a pretty awsome thing to see and the bees left the coolest looking bees wax in one of her bushes.
wide eyed and legless
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That's a good way to start and learn about bee keeping, pick the brains of the man who sets up and collects.
TimT
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Yeah, we first got started in bees by doing a hive split ourselves. We'd never done any beekeeping before that.... so thank heavens it worked!
Best way to get started is to go on a swarm list, I reckon. That way you get to collect a swarm of bees primed and ready to start a new hive - and you can assist them along the way with starter strips for comb and feeds of honey or sugar (if necessary). No fiddling with buying in new queens.
Hook up with local bee groups, there may be some beekeeping collectives or some opportunities to put hives on a friend or neighbour's land. In a way it's worth looking now and going onto a swarm list: you'll be the first in line when swarming season starts in August.
Best way to get started is to go on a swarm list, I reckon. That way you get to collect a swarm of bees primed and ready to start a new hive - and you can assist them along the way with starter strips for comb and feeds of honey or sugar (if necessary). No fiddling with buying in new queens.
Hook up with local bee groups, there may be some beekeeping collectives or some opportunities to put hives on a friend or neighbour's land. In a way it's worth looking now and going onto a swarm list: you'll be the first in line when swarming season starts in August.
Nullnvoid
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Nikolai is one of the nicest guys around, freakin' hard to understand with his accent. His honey is some of the best I have ever tasted.manticle said:
Danwood
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G'day bee blokes !
I haven't posted for a while, but I've done a few more work trips with the bees, so I'll throw up a few pics.
Firstly though, I re-read the thread and there was a few points I will comment on...
@ WEAL - HIve colour. White is arguably the best, as it's coolest in Summer. I've seen some really weird colours used and it often comes down to whatever enamel paint is cheapest at the time of needing to re-paint. Another reason is some apiarists like to provide visual reference points for their bees, to prevent 'drift' (only a problem with larger groups of hives, normally). This doesn't need to be via the box paint though. Leaning a few dead branches around the place will be fine, in the absence of any bushes etc.
@WEAL (I think) - Buying a Queen. This only consists of the (mated) Queen and 3 or 4 escort bees in a wooden box (as Stu said), plugged at one end with a hard sugar 'door'. These are for re-queening a hive which is struggling, either due to an aging Queen or the accidental death during handling etc. The bees will chew through the door after a while, during this time their pheromones will have mixed and the new Queen should be accepted to the hive.
In the case of an aging Queen, the hive will prepare for and lay a new Queen in preparation of the imminent death of the older Queen, but this often leads to an aggressive colony.
And this new Queen will usually follow in the poor brood laying 'footsteps' of her mother, so it's a lose-lose situation, better to re-queen every few years or as needed.
If you want a starter colony, this will be advertised as such. It will include a few frames worth of brood and bees, a mated Queen, pollen and a food source.... honey or a sugar syrup.
@Camo6 - Everyone should register their hives. Becoming part of the governing bodies regarding bees is all about general education and adopting the best practices, especially with regards to disease prevention and management.
So, Summer is winding down now. Time to ease up on robbing your hives of honey in the next few months. Let them have the stores to get through Winter in the best condition possible.
Here's a few picks from the last couple of work trips.
Moving bees out of Wedderburn (Canola) to Nullawarre, near Warranambool (Mesmate) as a storm moves in.
1/8th of the bees we moved over 4 days. 4 round trips from either Wedderburn or Mildura to Nullawarre...lots of Ks.
Mesmate in flower. This should build the colonies up ready for Almond pollination in July/August and then over-wintering.
A Queen which has been intentionally killed. It is then left on top of the frame and the hive closed up. A few days later, the hive will be re-queened with a newly mated Queen.
A new friend I made on the last trip, a 1.5m Goanna. I ran after it for 200m and chased him up a dead tree....a fairly standard friend-making procedure I've perfected over the years.
Oh, yeah... and I copped a sting on the old coin purse through a rip in the crotchal area of my shorts. Not recommended and considered poor form in the Apicultural industry. Funny as a cat in a box made of mirrors for onlookers, however.
I haven't posted for a while, but I've done a few more work trips with the bees, so I'll throw up a few pics.
Firstly though, I re-read the thread and there was a few points I will comment on...
@ WEAL - HIve colour. White is arguably the best, as it's coolest in Summer. I've seen some really weird colours used and it often comes down to whatever enamel paint is cheapest at the time of needing to re-paint. Another reason is some apiarists like to provide visual reference points for their bees, to prevent 'drift' (only a problem with larger groups of hives, normally). This doesn't need to be via the box paint though. Leaning a few dead branches around the place will be fine, in the absence of any bushes etc.
@WEAL (I think) - Buying a Queen. This only consists of the (mated) Queen and 3 or 4 escort bees in a wooden box (as Stu said), plugged at one end with a hard sugar 'door'. These are for re-queening a hive which is struggling, either due to an aging Queen or the accidental death during handling etc. The bees will chew through the door after a while, during this time their pheromones will have mixed and the new Queen should be accepted to the hive.
In the case of an aging Queen, the hive will prepare for and lay a new Queen in preparation of the imminent death of the older Queen, but this often leads to an aggressive colony.
And this new Queen will usually follow in the poor brood laying 'footsteps' of her mother, so it's a lose-lose situation, better to re-queen every few years or as needed.
If you want a starter colony, this will be advertised as such. It will include a few frames worth of brood and bees, a mated Queen, pollen and a food source.... honey or a sugar syrup.
@Camo6 - Everyone should register their hives. Becoming part of the governing bodies regarding bees is all about general education and adopting the best practices, especially with regards to disease prevention and management.
So, Summer is winding down now. Time to ease up on robbing your hives of honey in the next few months. Let them have the stores to get through Winter in the best condition possible.
Here's a few picks from the last couple of work trips.
Moving bees out of Wedderburn (Canola) to Nullawarre, near Warranambool (Mesmate) as a storm moves in.
1/8th of the bees we moved over 4 days. 4 round trips from either Wedderburn or Mildura to Nullawarre...lots of Ks.
Mesmate in flower. This should build the colonies up ready for Almond pollination in July/August and then over-wintering.
A Queen which has been intentionally killed. It is then left on top of the frame and the hive closed up. A few days later, the hive will be re-queened with a newly mated Queen.
A new friend I made on the last trip, a 1.5m Goanna. I ran after it for 200m and chased him up a dead tree....a fairly standard friend-making procedure I've perfected over the years.
Oh, yeah... and I copped a sting on the old coin purse through a rip in the crotchal area of my shorts. Not recommended and considered poor form in the Apicultural industry. Funny as a cat in a box made of mirrors for onlookers, however.
Ducatiboy stu
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And aren't they a LOT of fun... :lol:Danwood said:
TimT
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I hear really weird stories about people requeening their hive because it's too aggressive, and the mood of the hive changing *even before* any of the babies the queen lays have had a chance to grow up. Of course beekeepers then go on with their explanations, "oh, there's a pheromone change and the hive's responding", or whatever. Translation: bees are ****** ornery and nobody bloody knows why they do what they do.
wide eyed and legless
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Almost pressed the buy button on a Flow Hive but before I did checked on reviews, some of the traditional bee keepers reckon the bees don't like them, too much plastic, bees have to produce wax and make their own little cells, (the plastic issue sounded like one which crops up on here at times regarding the toxins and safety) Any how found a bee keeper close by who hopefully can teach me the ins and outs.
For me the Flow Hive looks like a great innovation but if the bees aren't happy, (I don't know if their is any scientific study been carried out) I guess I will have to go with an alternative.
For me the Flow Hive looks like a great innovation but if the bees aren't happy, (I don't know if their is any scientific study been carried out) I guess I will have to go with an alternative.
Danwood
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Yep, there's loads that isn't understood still.
Generally, you only really re-queen when you have definite signs the existing Queen isn't doing too well, such as patchy brood frames.
Ideally, you want solid, concentric rings/bands of eggs, larvae (at different stages) and capped brood, covering 2-4 frames.
TBH, bee keepers are a weird lot anyway. Days/weeks spent 'out bush', often with only their beard for company. It takes it's toll on a man.
Generally, you only really re-queen when you have definite signs the existing Queen isn't doing too well, such as patchy brood frames.
Ideally, you want solid, concentric rings/bands of eggs, larvae (at different stages) and capped brood, covering 2-4 frames.
TBH, bee keepers are a weird lot anyway. Days/weeks spent 'out bush', often with only their beard for company. It takes it's toll on a man.
Danwood
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We use plastic foundation. On a large scale, it's just not feasible to melt wax foundation into wired frames. And in a period of 40+C days, you're going to get mass-meltdowns.
It's recommended to wax dip your plastic a couple of times, just so the bees have a good starting point.
From what I understand, the problem (more of a concern, really) the industry has with flow hives is largely from a disease spreading potential, not with the product, as such.
It needs to be sold with 'a hive is for life, not just for Christmas' tagline. Apiarists are concerned people will enter into it too lightly, get bored, neglect their hive and it then has the potential to spread all manner of communicable diseases. To be fair to Flo-Hive, I think they are trying to doing this. But some people may not tow the line.
It's recommended to wax dip your plastic a couple of times, just so the bees have a good starting point.
From what I understand, the problem (more of a concern, really) the industry has with flow hives is largely from a disease spreading potential, not with the product, as such.
It needs to be sold with 'a hive is for life, not just for Christmas' tagline. Apiarists are concerned people will enter into it too lightly, get bored, neglect their hive and it then has the potential to spread all manner of communicable diseases. To be fair to Flo-Hive, I think they are trying to doing this. But some people may not tow the line.
wide eyed and legless
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Can't be any weirder than home brewers surely?Danwood said:
Camo6
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@Camo6 - Everyone should register their hives. Becoming part of the governing bodies regarding bees is all about general education and adopting the best practices, especially with regards to disease prevention and management.
That'd be right Dan. Your first assumption is that, being a MoozaBian, Cam's gonna steal a hive, run it illegally in his backyard and then sell the diluted product to school kids. You Cornish are a judgmental lot.
More interested in knowing if anyone has run into opposition gaining a permit even if their conditions are adequate or if the council is likely to conduct an inspection. My rates are high enough without a council employee poking his nose around.
Oh, hard luck on the stones too Dan. I imagine that wouldn't tickle. Wasn't long ago my wife got stung while we were playing a round of golf. When asked by the doc where she was stung I told him between the first and second hole. He reckons her stance was too wide.
That'd be right Dan. Your first assumption is that, being a MoozaBian, Cam's gonna steal a hive, run it illegally in his backyard and then sell the diluted product to school kids. You Cornish are a judgmental lot.
More interested in knowing if anyone has run into opposition gaining a permit even if their conditions are adequate or if the council is likely to conduct an inspection. My rates are high enough without a council employee poking his nose around.
Oh, hard luck on the stones too Dan. I imagine that wouldn't tickle. Wasn't long ago my wife got stung while we were playing a round of golf. When asked by the doc where she was stung I told him between the first and second hole. He reckons her stance was too wide.
