Dont Touch!
Mackka :lol:
Mackka :lol:
Beekeeping
- Thread starter Lesgold
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We had a swarm on our clothes line and just left it for 4-5 days and they moved on.
Hi Folks.
Been house sitting for a few days now. One of the tasks that needs to be performed is walking the dogs each day. Its a good chance to have a look around and see whats flowering in the local area. Spotted the old man banksia (Banksia serrata) just starting to open up.
This prompted a thought about seven hives that I keep on sandy country at my old work place. Banksia serrata and Banksia integrifolia dominate in this area. This is good for my bees as there is food for them all year round. I dont get a big surplus of honey from these trees but they do keep the hives healthy. If any of you end up getting a hive or two, researching the nectar and pollen sources available to your bees is a critical task. Having healthy hives with good bee numbers is a priority. If you dont move bees to follow flowering, you must ensure that local pollen and nectar provides the nutrients required to get them through a full year. Eucalypts provide the majority of nectar in Australia for the production of honey but unfortunately only a few of them flower annually. Some flower on two, three or four year cycles and there are a few that may only flower once in every ten years. Having a variety in relation to flowering plants helps with this issue. Checking buds on trees (using binoculars) happens often. Some eucalyptus trees hold their buds for years before they open. Obtaining local knowledge helps you to plan for what is coming up in the following seasons. Reducing or increasing hive numbers can sometimes be loosely organised up to two years before the flowering actually occurs. Anyone lucky enough to keep hives in suburbia doesnt have the same issues. The vast array of plants in towns can generate a good surplus of honey during the spring and summer months. There is generally enough flowering during winter (in the warmer climates) to keep hives healthy. In fact some areas, (as Straya pointed out) produce their best honey harvests during the winter.
Cheers for now.
Les
Been house sitting for a few days now. One of the tasks that needs to be performed is walking the dogs each day. Its a good chance to have a look around and see whats flowering in the local area. Spotted the old man banksia (Banksia serrata) just starting to open up.
This prompted a thought about seven hives that I keep on sandy country at my old work place. Banksia serrata and Banksia integrifolia dominate in this area. This is good for my bees as there is food for them all year round. I dont get a big surplus of honey from these trees but they do keep the hives healthy. If any of you end up getting a hive or two, researching the nectar and pollen sources available to your bees is a critical task. Having healthy hives with good bee numbers is a priority. If you dont move bees to follow flowering, you must ensure that local pollen and nectar provides the nutrients required to get them through a full year. Eucalypts provide the majority of nectar in Australia for the production of honey but unfortunately only a few of them flower annually. Some flower on two, three or four year cycles and there are a few that may only flower once in every ten years. Having a variety in relation to flowering plants helps with this issue. Checking buds on trees (using binoculars) happens often. Some eucalyptus trees hold their buds for years before they open. Obtaining local knowledge helps you to plan for what is coming up in the following seasons. Reducing or increasing hive numbers can sometimes be loosely organised up to two years before the flowering actually occurs. Anyone lucky enough to keep hives in suburbia doesnt have the same issues. The vast array of plants in towns can generate a good surplus of honey during the spring and summer months. There is generally enough flowering during winter (in the warmer climates) to keep hives healthy. In fact some areas, (as Straya pointed out) produce their best honey harvests during the winter.
Cheers for now.
Les
Hi Eldorado.
Just leave them alone. Scout bees will be out looking for a new home for the swarm. They may be gone by tomorrow. If they are still there in the morning, you may be able to contact a local beekeeper to come and pick them up. Sometimes local councils keep a list of people who are willing to come and gather the swarm. Dont spray them with anything or stir them up in any way. They wont annoy you if they are left in peace. I would however, keep kids away. Enjoy just looking at them.
Cheers
Les
Just leave them alone. Scout bees will be out looking for a new home for the swarm. They may be gone by tomorrow. If they are still there in the morning, you may be able to contact a local beekeeper to come and pick them up. Sometimes local councils keep a list of people who are willing to come and gather the swarm. Dont spray them with anything or stir them up in any way. They wont annoy you if they are left in peace. I would however, keep kids away. Enjoy just looking at them.
Cheers
Les
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There's a persimmon tree beside my work that flowers in winter, and there's always a mass of bees buzzing all over it - on the first day it flowers! It's like they wait for it every year. You can hear them buzzing from a good 5m away! I like watching them, being busy little bees, flying from flower to flower - from a safe distance, of course! 
Tathra is a good area for banksia. You should do well Doug. The honey is darker with a strong distinctive flavour. Love it on pancakes. You are right about the wattles. After the fires theyll be popping up like hairs on a cats back. There will be heaps of pollen available over the next couple of years. Not sure about your area but I reckon youd have acacias flowering most times throughout the year. Its a pity they dont provide any nectar.
Hi Megsy.
Dont know anything about persimmon apart from not enjoying the flavour. (Made to eat it as a kid and therefore hated it. Lol) would like to know more about it though. Sounds like it produces a lot of nectar.
Hi Megsy.
Dont know anything about persimmon apart from not enjoying the flavour. (Made to eat it as a kid and therefore hated it. Lol) would like to know more about it though. Sounds like it produces a lot of nectar.
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That sounds like good news to me Tathra, because they set my nose off really badly when I get anywhere near a wattle tree in bloom! We had one growing in our front yard and the folks had to chop it down because it was nearly killing me! I felt sorry to see it go - it was such a pretty tree - but...
And Les, I just learnt something when I looked up persimmon trees - it's not a persimmon tree at all!! Not sure who told me that when I asked what it was, but they were wrong! It's actually a loquat tree! Apparently they're a good tree to have because they have fruit when other trees are finished fruiting, so I guess that follows on with them blossoming when others aren't too.
Apparently they're fast growing and don't need a lot of care, so could be worth looking into, if you don't have them already, that is!
And Les, I just learnt something when I looked up persimmon trees - it's not a persimmon tree at all!! Not sure who told me that when I asked what it was, but they were wrong! It's actually a loquat tree! Apparently they're a good tree to have because they have fruit when other trees are finished fruiting, so I guess that follows on with them blossoming when others aren't too.
Apparently they're fast growing and don't need a lot of care, so could be worth looking into, if you don't have them already, that is!
The fruit fly love them Megsy. Yummy fruit to eat. Wish I could grow them though.
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Cheers Les,don't worry mate I wasn't going anywhere near them.I remember a kid at high school who hit a hive with the tractor at the school farm,he received over 300 stings and was lucky to survive.I will check in the morning to see if they are still there.Googled local apiarists and there is 3 or 4 locals who will come and get them.Lesgold said:
Hi Megsy.
The fruit fly is a bit of a problem these days. Dont like using chemicals and therefore the easy way around it is to avoid growing things that are fruit fly magnets.
Hi Eldorado.
Let us all know how the swarm situation pans out. You can generally get quite close to the cluster with no issues. When bees swarm, they stuff themselves full of honey before they leave the hive. With full bellies they are quite content. (A bit like us after a good feed) That honey is used to begin the wax making process when they find a new home. It also provides a bit of tucker while they are on the road. Knocking a beehive with a tractor is a good way of upsetting the girls. Have done the same thing when mowing. I was lucky as I had a bee suit on at the time. (The girls dont seem to like mowers and trimmers next to their home so a suit is worn when cutting grass in close proximity to the hive.)
Cheers
Les
The fruit fly is a bit of a problem these days. Dont like using chemicals and therefore the easy way around it is to avoid growing things that are fruit fly magnets.
Hi Eldorado.
Let us all know how the swarm situation pans out. You can generally get quite close to the cluster with no issues. When bees swarm, they stuff themselves full of honey before they leave the hive. With full bellies they are quite content. (A bit like us after a good feed) That honey is used to begin the wax making process when they find a new home. It also provides a bit of tucker while they are on the road. Knocking a beehive with a tractor is a good way of upsetting the girls. Have done the same thing when mowing. I was lucky as I had a bee suit on at the time. (The girls dont seem to like mowers and trimmers next to their home so a suit is worn when cutting grass in close proximity to the hive.)
Cheers
Les
Hi Folks.
Just thought Id spend a bit of time talking about swarming and how it impacts on the hive (and also the beekeeper.) Swarming generally occurs during spring time but may occur at other times if conditions are right. The chances of swarming are now considerably lower than what they were in the last two months but it is still important to keep an eye on the larger hives. A hive normally enters spring with a small cluster of bees surrounding the brood nest and the queen. As days begin to warm up, wattles and native plants start to flower. This is the trigger for the queen to start increasing her laying. She will begin laying about a thousand eggs per day which results in an explosion of bee numbers over a period of about a month. When this situation arises, the beekeepers job is to ensure that the bees have sufficient space and the queen has the room to keep laying. Over crowding and a lack of space tend to be the triggers for swarming. Early in the spring, the boxes on a hive can be swapped around. Bees tend to want to work in the highest box. Quite often at this time of year, the bottom box is empty. As soon as this task is performed, bees will tend to move up into the empty box and prepare cells for the queen to fill with eggs. Swapping boxes does not prevent swarming, it just gives you more time. As spring progresses, the hive begins to be over run with young bees. Remember there would be approximately 1000 bees hatching every day. At this point in time it surpasses the number of bees that die and therefore the colony continues to build. With the vast number of bees out bringing in nectar, the hive can quickly become honey bound and the spaces left for the queen to lay becomes less. Both situations can trigger the swarm impulse. A beekeeper should extract honey when possible and add an extra box with frames to make some more space. Requeening a hive, tearing down queen cells as they are produced and making hive splits are other methods that are used to help control the problem. What happens if a hive swarms and how does it impact on the colony and the beekeeper? When a hive wants to swarm, special queen cells are built by the bees. An egg is layed in the cell and then the young larvae is raised on a special diet. When a number of queen cells are produced and sealed, the hive is ready to swarm. These cells are visible indicator in the hive and Swarming will normally occur on a sunny day within a few days of the cells being capped. Prior to swarming, the queen is given a restricted diet so that she can loose weight for the swarming flight. She basically stops laying at that point and there will be little open brood in the hive. Just before the bees swarm, bees gorge themselves on honey to take with them. Most of the swarm will be young flying bees. About half the hive takes off as a swarm anywhere from mid morning to just after lunch. The rest of the swarming process has already been spoken about but we should now look at the consequences of swarming. The hive at this stage has half of its worker population gone. It has no queen, some sealed queen cells, very little open brood and a lot of capped brood. Many of the flying bees are older and there is a good number of nurse bees. The biggest issue for the colony is the lack of eggs and young larvae. There is a break in the laying cycle which will have consequences down the track. The new queen may not hatch for five or six days. She then takes a few days to get organised and establishes herself in the hive (also kills any other queens that may not have hatched) She then heads off on a mating flight. After another short break she will then settle down and start laying eggs. The first eggs need three weeks to develop into bees. You can now see that a period of five or six weeks has been lost to the hive. During that time, older bees have died and the hive numbers dwindle. To put it simply, having a hive swarm on you can mean a huge loss in honey production over the season.
Cheers
Les
Just thought Id spend a bit of time talking about swarming and how it impacts on the hive (and also the beekeeper.) Swarming generally occurs during spring time but may occur at other times if conditions are right. The chances of swarming are now considerably lower than what they were in the last two months but it is still important to keep an eye on the larger hives. A hive normally enters spring with a small cluster of bees surrounding the brood nest and the queen. As days begin to warm up, wattles and native plants start to flower. This is the trigger for the queen to start increasing her laying. She will begin laying about a thousand eggs per day which results in an explosion of bee numbers over a period of about a month. When this situation arises, the beekeepers job is to ensure that the bees have sufficient space and the queen has the room to keep laying. Over crowding and a lack of space tend to be the triggers for swarming. Early in the spring, the boxes on a hive can be swapped around. Bees tend to want to work in the highest box. Quite often at this time of year, the bottom box is empty. As soon as this task is performed, bees will tend to move up into the empty box and prepare cells for the queen to fill with eggs. Swapping boxes does not prevent swarming, it just gives you more time. As spring progresses, the hive begins to be over run with young bees. Remember there would be approximately 1000 bees hatching every day. At this point in time it surpasses the number of bees that die and therefore the colony continues to build. With the vast number of bees out bringing in nectar, the hive can quickly become honey bound and the spaces left for the queen to lay becomes less. Both situations can trigger the swarm impulse. A beekeeper should extract honey when possible and add an extra box with frames to make some more space. Requeening a hive, tearing down queen cells as they are produced and making hive splits are other methods that are used to help control the problem. What happens if a hive swarms and how does it impact on the colony and the beekeeper? When a hive wants to swarm, special queen cells are built by the bees. An egg is layed in the cell and then the young larvae is raised on a special diet. When a number of queen cells are produced and sealed, the hive is ready to swarm. These cells are visible indicator in the hive and Swarming will normally occur on a sunny day within a few days of the cells being capped. Prior to swarming, the queen is given a restricted diet so that she can loose weight for the swarming flight. She basically stops laying at that point and there will be little open brood in the hive. Just before the bees swarm, bees gorge themselves on honey to take with them. Most of the swarm will be young flying bees. About half the hive takes off as a swarm anywhere from mid morning to just after lunch. The rest of the swarming process has already been spoken about but we should now look at the consequences of swarming. The hive at this stage has half of its worker population gone. It has no queen, some sealed queen cells, very little open brood and a lot of capped brood. Many of the flying bees are older and there is a good number of nurse bees. The biggest issue for the colony is the lack of eggs and young larvae. There is a break in the laying cycle which will have consequences down the track. The new queen may not hatch for five or six days. She then takes a few days to get organised and establishes herself in the hive (also kills any other queens that may not have hatched) She then heads off on a mating flight. After another short break she will then settle down and start laying eggs. The first eggs need three weeks to develop into bees. You can now see that a period of five or six weeks has been lost to the hive. During that time, older bees have died and the hive numbers dwindle. To put it simply, having a hive swarm on you can mean a huge loss in honey production over the season.
Cheers
Les
Hi Megsy,
Only guessing but a combination of sound, mower vibration, the smell of petrol and the physical presence of something close to their home. Sometimes They are OK, other days they are little buggers that want to eat you for breakfast. They tend to be quite good when there is plenty of nectar around and extremely savage when tucker is scarce.
Cheers
Les
Only guessing but a combination of sound, mower vibration, the smell of petrol and the physical presence of something close to their home. Sometimes They are OK, other days they are little buggers that want to eat you for breakfast. They tend to be quite good when there is plenty of nectar around and extremely savage when tucker is scarce.
Cheers
Les
Hey Megsy, thanks for putting up the puzzle by the way. Wish I got to it earlier to give those other guys a bit of a hurry up. It was a fun task on a wet day. It was a Sudoku with words actually.
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