I was called out to remove a hive that had grown in about a month on a fruit tree. What great sight it was. There had been a number of cool and wet days recently but that did not seem to deter the bees from building a wonderful structure in the open. I prepared some
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We all knew it was going to come sooner or later despite the prevention and detection strategies in place. And now it’s here. With the efforts in place, there is reasonable chance that the outbreak may be eliminated. The best sites to go to for up to date information are below. Avoid those that are
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Here is a short PowerPoint document I presented to the Moonee Valley Beekeepers Club recently. I hope its of some help in recognising issues within your hives.
Autumn is here in Melbourne and its time to ensure that your hive is ready for winter and has enough supplies to last until spring. This year has been particularly poor for bees and many colonies have little honey supplies. There is only about four weeks before the season ends and its too cool for
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To be a good beekeeper requires knowledge of the science behind beekeeping and bees and having a set of beekeeping skills and practices. You need to be prepared to invest time and resources in developing your expertise to become a good and responsible beekeeper. Beekeeping is not for everyone. I meet many people who begin
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This is the time of year that European wasp nests are growing in size and preparing their queens for winter. They are a nasty environmental pest and have their nests in ground, in ferns and trees and in walls and roofs. If you find that you have a nest of wasps on your property, get
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It’s now the last week of October and, on a fine day, I average 5 calls a day requesting capture of swarms. Of course I’ve run out of room to store any more bees and so refer people on. The sites I suggest that you try are: The Beekeepers Club Aussie Apiarists Swarm Patrol Capturing
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I get lots of calls this time of year about my honey and its potential for reduce people’s hayfever symptoms. Up to now I’ve said that I’ve not seen any evidence beyond hearsay that honey is effective against hayfever. But thanks to an article in the Beekeepers Club journal I now can provide people with
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