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http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl General Discussion >> Chat >> inspecting my Bees :) http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1433411027 Message started by The Mechanic on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 7:43pm

Title: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 7:43pm

as some of you will know already, I have ordered a Flow Hive..

but in the mean time I have to get my own colony going in preparation for the coming spring..

which I have done.. but, periodically you need to keep check on how they are doing..

so here's the inspection I did about a month back before the days got too cool to open the Hive...

strip down the hive..

get some smoke going..

and start pulling some frames to see how they are going..

this one had Drone cells in it.. although, with this cold blast of winter coming in all the drones would now be pushed out of the hive.. as they are useless through the winter and they don't need their mouths to feed... they will make more drones come spring..

bees coming and going at hive entrance packing pollen... :)

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Grappler on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 7:49pm

Bee me up, Scotty...

Thought about getting some bees here, but the neighbour is allergic to them....

Got the most gorgeous and buzzy black and electric blue native bees here though.... never take their honey - native bees have enough for winter....

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 7:54pm

that's a shame... but they don't hurt anyone, not intentionally...

the day after a pulled their hive down they were still a bit upset...

I was checking up on them at lunch time standing close to the hive like a always do when a couple of bees came out to give me the "move along" ...

as I walked away one of the bees bumped me in the back of the head and got tangled up in my hair.. so I brushed him...

accidently into my collar.. :o

and bang... stung in the neck!! :(

anyways.. my fault..

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Aussie on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 8:48pm

Nice hobby. I do like seeing pics of stuff like that.

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Lady Lols on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 10:45pm

Bee-utiful....thanks for sharing, love stuff like this! We buy our honey from a local bee keeper, a tub of it for $15. I don't like buying it from supermarket shelves, with 'imported' stuff in the mix.
Did you see on 60 minutes I think it was, last week, about the bees being transported so they can stay alive and not starve?

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Grappler on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 11:52pm

Motor biking into Goulburn one summer's day I got one under my helmet... stung me and my left eye closed up... my automatic response of brushing the bee away killed it... just an accidental meeting...

They're not vicious - they hum happily around here since there are year round flowers... always got something to work with.

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by cods on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 8:02am

do we have bumble bees here??.. really big fluffy bees beautiful.. but dont think they make honey.

I had a swarm once in my backyard scared me to bits....but I do love mother nature shes amazing..

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Dame Pansi on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 8:45am

What about the one in your bonnet?

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by it_is_the_light on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 8:51am

many blessings

a true master at his works

much love and gratitude mechanic

for keeping these trades alive ...

namaste

- : ) =

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by cods on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 9:11am

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 8:45am:

What about the one in your bonnet?

pansi thats isla and you know it...Too B or not to B...the question is... do B good..

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by John Smith on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 9:23am

Sophia wrote on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 10:45pm:

I think that was that show about Australian truck drivers

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 11:28am

Sophia wrote on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 10:45pm:

I see what you did there.... :P

yes I saw that about the bees being transported to find them feed...

if you live out in the country outback with a large population of bees like that food can be hard to find, especially in times of drought.. so its move them or lose them...

I guess a lot of people think that bees are better off out in the country rather than in town... but this is not true, its the opposite, unless they are being moved all of the time...

picture this... a farmer is growing a crop and there's millions of flowers everywhere... once that crop is gone, so is the food...

if bees don't get moved, or move on if they are in the wild... they'll die..

through the spring and summer, different gum trees flower at different times which keeps the bees going through this time.. but then what??? ... food gets scarce and a beehive will drop its numbers to survive...

so...

the best areas for bees are urban areas in terms of food...

it is also the best area for survival in terms of Farmers spraying dangerous chemicals on mass over hundreds and thousands of acres...

then once the farmers kill all of the bees with their chemicals they go crying to the government for a handout because they can't grow crops...

durr...

in town there are thousands of gardens with flowers all year around... watching mine this morning while having a coffee they were packing in the pollen... stacks of it... so they are going quite well at the moment...

.................

cods... bee swarms will scare people but you have nothing to fear...

they are out in the open and feel quite vulnerable... they are not looking for a fight, they are looking for a new place to live...

this will usually happen in spring as number swell to the point the hive is over full...

the bees start making a new Queen and when the new queen is about to hatch... the old Queen takes off with Half of the Hive to look for a new place to live and start a new hive to build up numbers again...

I have fridge magnets ready to go for this coming spring to pass out throughout my neighbourhood in case my bees swarm... people can call me and i'll come get them... im building a new hive at the moment and then i'll have a new Flow Hive coming in at the end of the year... so by the end of summer I could have three operating hives on the go...

..................

by the way Lols... you are right about supermarket honey... they have all sorts of stuff in it, even syrups..
they are also HEAT treated so that the honey doesn't crystallise.. this can also make it not as good as the real deal as they can affect the honey's makeup..

Having local honey from your local area can be a great benefit to hay fever sufferers because the "RAW" honey has all of the local pollens in it which helps you become used to those pollens that are irritating you.. :)

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by cods on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 11:41am

President Elect, The Mechanic wrote on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 11:28am:

the bees start making a new Queen and when the new queen is about to hatch... the old Queen takes off with Half of the Hive to look for a new place to live and start a new hive to build up numbers again...

does that mean you have to build another hive??? why dont they make the hives bigger in the first place??

I assume there is a reason for them being the one size??..

as they all look the same to me.

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Redneck on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 7:54pm

Grappler Deep State Feller wrote on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 11:52pm:

True story: Funny you should mention that, had a similar incident going to work one morning where one flew in between my leg and my motorcycle tank.

Bloody thing stung the crap out of me.

Have you ever tried to push your bike off the road at a set of lights with the most painful thing in your crutch area you can imagine.

Not nice I will give you the drum! ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Lady Lols on Jun 6^th, 2015 at 10:29am

John Smith wrote on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 9:23am:

Sophia wrote on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 10:45pm:

I think that was that show about Australian truck drivers

There may have been a show about the truck drivers with the bees, but this was on 60 minutes (bee scared), and I found the link for perusal.

http://www.9jumpin.com.au/show/60minutes/stories/2015/may/bee-scared/

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Lady Lols on Jun 6^th, 2015 at 10:30am

Redmond Neck wrote on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 7:54pm:

Grappler Deep State Feller wrote on Jun 4^th, 2015 at 11:52pm:

I know it's not funny, but, I could not help laughing and tears rolled down my eyes (no offence).....it's always funny in hindsight tho :P

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Lady Lols on Jun 6^th, 2015 at 10:40am

Quote:

Having local honey from your local area can be a great benefit to hay fever sufferers because the "RAW" honey has all of the local pollens in it which helps you become used to those pollens that are irritating you.. Smiley

It's fascinating.... something I didn't know, and it actually makes sense, a bit like what homeopaths do, give you a little of something you are allergic to, and it combats your allergy. Isn't that what those flu shots are about also?

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 8^th, 2015 at 2:32pm

Sophia wrote on Jun 6^th, 2015 at 10:40am:

Quote:

google a list of what Honey is good for and you'll be amazed...

over the years we've gone away from honey from when younger whereby it was always in the Pantry..

I now leave a jar of it on the bench so that it doesn't get forgotten or buried with the other million of products in the Pantry...

the mrs has now taken up taking a teaspoon a day and says she's feeling better for it.. in fact.. I've been trying to shake a bloody cold for a month now and she is now claiming her teaspoon a day has prevented her from getting the dredged lurgy.. but we'll see..

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 8^th, 2015 at 3:53pm

cods wrote on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 11:41am:

President Elect, The Mechanic wrote on Jun 5^th, 2015 at 11:28am:

does that mean you have to build another hive??? why dont they make the hives bigger in the first place??

I assume there is a reason for them being the one size??..

as they all look the same to me.

they are all around the same size, im using 8 framed hives while you can also get 10 framed hives... you can build them up or pack them down with extra boxes depending on the time of year..

the Queen will lay more or less eggs depending on the amount of food available... so if food is cut down so will egg production... as the worker bees only live to 4 to 6 weeks before dying again, its not long before hive numbers will drop..

when more food is available, the queen will split the hive and take half with her to start another hive and thereby increasing numbers all over the world... well they try... its instinctive..

as a bee keeper you have to keep a close eye out and if they are getting FULL in the hive you can stack another box on so that they can continue to pack in the honey during spring and summer.. this is excess honey and the stuff that you can draw on... you always have to leave the bees some as its "their food sauce"

Queens will rarely split the hive in their first year and some beekeepers will replace the Queen every year...

you also have an option of splitting the Hive yourself...

although the Queen seems to be running the show... if she is not performing she'll be booted out and the hive will make new queens that will perform better...

the drones (males) who's only task is to mate - will be thrown out in winter as they perform no working tasks within the hive... they are only another mouth to feed that they don't need in winter as food supplies drop... any drone cells within the hive will be taken apart and thrown out as well...

I saw this happen recently just be chance... I was looking at the hive when a large group of bees started to come out the front... when I went in for a closer look I saw this large bee... for a minute I thought it was the Queen and that she was taking half my hive away... :o :o :o :o

but then I saw another large bee and figured that they were only drones.. sheesh.. it was the first time I've seen the drones... I have not seen my Queen yet...

drone lower left of centre of pic.. he's the bigger one

worker bee

Security making short work of a wasp

new hive

Frames

Painted Hive

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 11^th, 2015 at 9:59pm

I just had a thought pop into my head..

I think it was cods asking about the bumble bee..

they are not on mainland Australia..

but..

they are in Tasmania... they either came in on a ship.. or.. someone brought them into the state, which is the more popular theory due to their spread all over the state..

I didn't know this until I was on a Solo bike trip around Tassie a few years back... I stopped at a café for breakfast and while sitting outside near a stream in their garden (which was full of hebe bushes) I noticed a Bumble Bee... :o :o :o

I just luv bumble bees...

but..

what they do is compete for food against other native and honey bees... also... against other nectar eating animals like Birds...

due to its size.. the bumble bee can muscle in on food sources and push the smaller native and honey bees out... this is of concern...

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 13^th, 2015 at 2:21pm

the Sun was out around midday so there was plenty of action around the Hive...

I had them landing on my legs, arms, face.. :o

;D ...one tried to land on my eyelid while another one landed on my nose which tickled it like mad...

they are so soft and delicate when they are on you and relaxed :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCOHn1KMaQc&feature=em-upload_owner

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Emma Peel on Jun 13^th, 2015 at 10:54pm

Bees .. I have an acreage property with old trees and lots of diversity. I have two ( at least) Australian Native beehives, living in their natural habitat. ie in Trees..
I also had a swarm of European (feral) bees set up a huge nest high in a hollow in a Gum. They drove out nesting Rosellas. It was quite a sight.

I had a huge hive of natives , but the tree fell down and they moved. I'll try to find some pics. I also see the blue-banded bee and even Carpenter bees.. tho not lately. THEY are the biggest native bee in Aus.

Love Bees ! They equal Life.!

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Emma Peel on Jun 13^th, 2015 at 11:09pm

try this
hmm too many kbs

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Jun 14^th, 2015 at 2:17pm

Emma wrote on Jun 13^th, 2015 at 10:54pm:

sounds like a lovely area...

and that's a huge part of the problem with declining bee population... clear felling and losing that biodiversity...

sure.. you can take bees to a farmers crop but he's cleared the land so much that they only think there is his crop...

imagine eating the same monotype food for 3 to 4 weeks straight?

say.. eating a tomato for breakfast, lunch and tea and in between.. for 4 weeks straight.. :o

imagine what that would do to your own immune system...

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Emma Peel on Jun 14^th, 2015 at 8:45pm

indeed.

I wish I was clever enoughto downsize my photos. Perhaps I'll try again later.

But it is true the diversity is the key. At different times of year I hear the bees and smell the honey blossoms of the gums. It permeates the air. Gorgeous. I always check to see which bees are most present, and it is most often the feral euros unfortunately. Nevertheless the Native bees are still doing well.

This afternoon I was checking something out re water tanks near the house and heard bees. When I looked, there were bees all around the She -Oaks. Or perhaps fire oaks, 'cos as winter comes the ends of all those lovely needles develop long coppery redish extensions, which are actually flowers, and that was where the bees were.

It has been unusually warm and wet here so far this winter, and everything is green. Wonderful. :)

.

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Grappler on Jun 14^th, 2015 at 11:07pm

Emma wrote on Jun 14^th, 2015 at 8:45pm:

365 days of the year bees have pollen here from our year round flower plantings and bushes.... there are always blossoms here... and the bees can eat.....

http://www.homelife.com.au/gardening/features/winters+flowers,4350

Feed the bees,
Nothing a bag,
Nothing, nothing,
Nothing a bag..

Feed the bees,
And then come Spring,
No garden is wanting
Pollen to bring.....

So... feed the bees...
Nothing a bag.....

Oh - winter peas and Snow Peas are good..... lots of flowers....

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Emma Peel on Jun 15^th, 2015 at 12:26am

Incredible.. but it is raining.

Seems there is someone on this forum who is playing silly games.

My icon has been changed, then, deleted, then changed the deleted.. and my gender symbol has been changed. Is this happening to anyone else.? I seem to be targeted for some reason.

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Black Orchid on Aug 4^th, 2015 at 1:45pm

Great pics as usual. Thanks Mechanic.

I saw this on FB today and thought some might find it useful ...

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Aug 4^th, 2015 at 6:08pm

Black Orchid wrote on Aug 4^th, 2015 at 1:45pm:

Great pics as usual. Thanks Mechanic.

I saw this on FB today and thought some might find it useful ...

thankyou BO... you are one of the great "Ladies" of the forum.. :)

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by The Mechanic on Aug 4^th, 2015 at 6:12pm

oh, I have saved that pic to my desktop.. I will work on what grows in my area..

being so close to the beach I have crap sandy soil... I do have lavender on the go... hebe's grow well and bees luv them...

I also have grevilleas and also bush fuchsia.. bottle brush and banksia's.. :)

Title: Re: inspecting my Bees :)
Post by Black Orchid on Aug 5^th, 2015 at 5:14pm

Well it sounds like you have it under control and are quite adept at keeping the birds and the bees happy and content ;)