Honey extraction hints & autumn tasks
2023 04Download
Category: Hives
Varroa in NSW
I’m off again to help in the effort to control the outbreak of Varroa in NSW. Volunteer beekeepers from across the country and support staff are all working hard on this job. Lets hope that Australia is the first country to eliminate this nasty mite from its shores. Being involved is important and interesting work
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Possum Box Bees
Got a call from someone in Yarraville. A tree with a possum box full of bees was coming down. I went to the house and the arborist had already taken the box down. So I just covered the box with a sheet and took it home. As I placed it in my garden the bottom
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To Flow Hive or not to Flow Hive
I get a lot of calls from people wanting to establish a Flow Hive. They have seen the website and YouTubes and it’s so easy. Set up, come back, turn the tap and hey presto – honey. I also get calls from others who can’t get out the back door without themselves, their children and
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No good
When down to the Collingwood Children’s Farm on Monday to check their 9 hives. The sun was out and it was going to be a warm day with a possible shower or two in the afternoon. All the hives were active with bees flying in and out, bar one. In the front of this hive
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Up a Ladder
I had just finished checking my last hive and turned my attention to picking peas from my community garden lot when the phone rang and was called out to a swarm from a hive from I hive that had inspected a while back. When I got there, the bees were 3 metres up a tree
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Urgent Action
I got called out by a beekeeper as their hive had sent out a small swarm and they were concerned that they had lost their queen. I made time to go out and have a look as the hive may send out a larger swarm or after-swarms if action is not taken. The beekeeper had
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Hive splitting
The sun came out occasionally yesterday and I was able to requeen two hives and split two others. The hive splitting were quick jobs as I had all ready Demareed the hives so that brood and nurse bees were in the top box. The strategy adopted was to have two hives on the same hive
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Queens
My first order of new queens for the season have arrived and the weather is not good which will slow things down. I should be able to setup nucleus over the next few days during bursts of good weather. I’ll update you as the progress and outcome. Update: 9 October 2020 All the queens are
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Swarm prevention and spitting
It’s spring and a week ago I did my rounds checking if hives were preparing to swarm. 7 hives were looking as if they were on the verge and I internal split them using the Demaree method. The weather looked good yesterday, just before a cool change. So I went around to check all the
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