Until I sold my home and garden recently, I owned two native bee hives of Tetragonula carbonaria and a top bar honey bee hive.
While I'm am so far from expert at bee keeping it's not funny I do love to learn more about bees and the benefits they provide us.
When I was a child at primary school we had our own honey-bee hive and the local bee keeper would come by regularly and we would all gather around while he showed us how to look after them and gather the honey.
We have members on BLF who are very into bees, both native and honey and I hope they will share their knowledge here. I got a little frustrated trying to find past postings so thought one spot for it all would be better.
I find a lot of articles about bees and will post them here, nice and tidy in one spot, making them easier to find.
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Thanks Andy I will PM you. I was given a hive well before I purchased my bees (probably 3-4 years ago) but not sure if it's OK for the bees I have - Hockingsi. Thanks for the info Christa and for the offer of the hive, I will have to show Andy the hive I have and see if it is any good. I'm sure my bees will be happy to have their hive split, it must be chockers after so many years.
Cheryl, Ian can give you an empty hive if you need one. Although Andy has kindly offered to help you, you can leave the bees where they are, unless you wish to make another hive for your garden or the old hive box wood is deteriorated.
Like Andrew we intend to leave ours alone if we can for a few years, they, the bees, work hard in the garden.
Get in touch Cheryl. I'm happy to help. I've decided to only split mine every second or third year now. Do you have a spare box or do you need one?
Yes Cheryl, Our son came over to help. It's amazing. we noticed one of the hives were very quiet and calm. Another lot was feisty and nipping our neck and arms, we wore our head veils but forgot to put on long sleeves.
Have a go yourself Cheryl, just watch a video on utube and get the gear and go for it, you could end up with another hive in your garden. Do you have a spare hive for the new lot. Otherwise you could ring a beekeeper in your area but sometimes they charge a bit. A split hive could cost a fair bit of money to buy, and when they fill up they are worth more.
But unless you need more bees, or your box is breaking up, your hive will last for a few years.
Did you split them yourselves? Mine needs doing badly
What a coincidence, I also just picked up a hive for the yard, my first one! I have Hockingsi and hopefully in twelve months or so I'll be all ready to go to split.
Hi Lissa, great to hear from you. Hope all is well. We are happy with our little bees and have put them closer to the house so we can supervise them.
The Austroplebeia australis name covers a few existing types now under the same heading. They have different types in N.T and Q'ld and Nth Qld, and Nth W.A. and then some from New Guinea. Some scientist has decided that through DNA they are very similar. This means they have different markings in different locations, and some of the workers have bright yellow abdomens. I haven't seen those abdomens yet. They are amazing, each night they weave a delicate net over their entrance hole to protect their hive from intruders.
Thanks for that info, most of what I learnt so far is from Tim Heards Bee Book.
Wonderful Christa :)
Here's a little article I found about your new bees: https://www.aussiebee.com.au/aussiebeeonline025.pdf
Do they have the glowing orange abdomen talked about in the article?
That's very exciting. I'll have to come and have a look.
Always add photos using the "From my computer" option, even if you are on a mobile phone or other device.
Added by Doug Hanning
Added by Andrew Cumberland
Added by Doug Hanning
Vetiver grass helps to stabilise soil and protects it against erosion. It can protect against pests and weeds. Vetiver is also used as animal feed. (Wiki.)
GrowVetiver is a plant nursery run by Dave & Keir Riley that harvests and grows Vetiver grass for local community applications and use. It is based in Beachmere, just north of Brisbane, Australia.
Talk to Andy on 0422 022 961. You can Pay on this link
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