To Feed, or Not to Feed?
Today’s post is motivated by the number of recreational beekeepers contacting me to discuss whether and when to feed their bees. In the general to-and-fro across social media, a few beekeepers are committed to not feeding their bees. In their eyes, it is unnatural, perpetuates weak genes and d
Warm Winter = Wiley Wasps
The weather of late in our region has certainly presented us with changes that we would not usually see this time of year. Particularly wasps in winter! We found the concentration of wasps heading into winter was higher than usual and as such, we placed wasp traps around our apiaries to mitigate any
Bees and Chickens
Have you run a chicken coop? Chickens are funny animals with their quirks and behaviours. Bees are similar; they do things that don’t make sense to us, yet to them, there is a perfectly credible reason. This hive in our backyard is one of those moments which gets one thinking – why is
The Swarm Queen – Part 1
At first, it was a joke about me and the swarms in our family. I am fascinated with behaviours in humans and animals, and as I watch and learn about bees or insects as they are scientifically aligned, I somehow have a knack for swarms. Allow me to explain. I am not avidly seeking out […]
Summertime Extraction – delayed
The ever-present rain at the end of 2022 and early 2023 impacted the hives in our apiaries. The rain caught us by surprise in that the best did not have the amount of honey we would have expected for the Spring/Summer season of honey extraction. In my December 2022 La Nina and Its Effects on [&hel
La Nina and its effects on bees
Being part of a beekeeping business certainly opens my eyes to natural events that I most likely would not have thought to, to be honest. 2022’s wet season was fantastic to experience from a beekeeping perspective in the ACT and NSW. The constant rain for weeks on end, followed by short spur
The Bees Have Escaped
The joys of learning how to manage hives. As a newbie to our beekeeping business, I was charged with watching the hives in our garden in readiness for possible swarming while Peter worked the apiaries. Well, you can safely say the amateur beekeeper here messed up, and there they are! Hanging aroun