Beekeeping your way

During a worker bees’ lifetime in the hive, they are appointed to different jobs based on their age. Just as any healthy beehive, everyone works as if they are in a factory, each has a full understanding of their role and works hard until the last minute. From the moment a bee hatches from the…

When you are a new beekeeper, it’s a bit confusing what type of bees are there at first, especially differentiating drones from queens, or even workers. We all know that the bees are mostly females. However, there are “men” in the hives called the drones. Interestingly, the drones are necessary for the success of any…

In the season of nectar scarcity and drought, you may experience your hive being robbed by other honey bees. To prevent your colonies from getting wiped out of their hard work, here are a few details about robbing to give you an understanding this bee behaviour and how to prevent it! What is Robbing? Robbing…

Anyone who lost a hive for the first time has this question on the top of their head. The thought of the bees moving out is hard to understand at first, the reason behind it and why they were not happy to the hive that we bought and prepared for them. However, bees do have…

How much do we really know about our very own native bees? There are at least 1,700 species of Australian native bees, and no, the honey bees are not native in Australia. They are the European honey bees (Apis mellifera) which were introduced in Australia around the 1800’s. They were introduced as most native bee…

The natural ecosystem works in a wonderful yet mysterious way. We can only do so much to protect the bees from its natural predators. We have identified common pests that can invade your bee’s hive and may cause harm that may eventually destroy the colony. We’ve also listed common bee predators that present danger to…

The 2019 Australian bushfires have been burning since October 2019. It has been reported that in NSW alone, almost 5 million hectares of land have been burned. In total, it is estimated that at least 10 million hectares have been burned across Australia. So far, there have been 25 casualties, including volunteer firefighters who gave…

Summer is around the corner and though your bees will be busy producing honey, it is important to be aware of what may be a threat to the hives. Nosemosis, also known as Nosema, is a common bee disease mainly caused by a parasite Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis. It has invaded many beehives worldwide,…

There is recent emergence of young and amateur beekeepers across Australia. In example, did you know that there is a beekeeping club for children? Yes, that’s right there is. Anita Long, previously a hairdresser turned apiarist started the Tasmania Junior Beekeepers that has over 80 members. The club is aimed to inspire the future of…

Queen management techniques to delay and deter swarming. In our second post on preventing spring bee swarms, we look at three queen management techniques. Remember, swarming is natural and all techniques technically only postpone swarming. However, done right, you can postpone until the swarming season has passed. You will need to combine a variety of…