Ok, first up – If you get my subheading reference above – I applaud you. Next. Burr Comb. I have done my latest inspection (Spring still in Australia). And what did I find, but a lid full of burr comb inside my hive, Jutta. That’s the hive with the gorgous black Italian bees. (at least I think that’s what they are. They are a lot darker than the ones in Marie-Laure. ) The Burr comb was standing strong. I love…
Marie-Laure and Jutta, survivors both.The winter came, a strange time now.Summer warmth, and sombre chill. Mixed. Confused. Climate strangle hold on the earth. The heat came hard, then snow fell deep. Marie-Laure and Jutta fought on.In and out, they flew. In and out, they flew. I watched, and waited. Fed them a little bit. I admit.I watched, and waited. The leaves fell around them. A little bit. More warm days than not. YES! Many warm days in a row. It’s…
After having the two new hives now for just over four weeks, I did my first full inspection on both. I did a small quick one about 1 week after I picked them up just to check on state of hives and put them into their new homes, but this one I wanted to check health and check for queen (or babies) specifically. MARIE LAURE First up Marie -Laure. This one has a flow super on it and was a…
I love beekeeping. Even though I am still so new and feel like I am making more mistakes than not, I love it. The bees are wonderful, the beekeeping is forever interesting and rewarding. The community online is wonderful. So after the advice from a lovely gentleman in my beekeeping club in Katoomba , I ordered my new queen and have now installed her in a split hive. I was worried about the chalk-brood in hive 2 and was…
So, my dear reader, you will tell by my heading that this year has not been one of joyous triumph. Wikipedia is a great source of many things: many facts, some fake news, and occasionally it offers up a little gem of delightful knowledge. That is how I stumbled across the wonderful Dutch saying Redeloos, radeloos and reddeloos. Let me translate: Senseless, Desperate and Irrecoverable. In three words that pretty much sums up my 3rd full year of beekeeping. I’m probably being a bit…
I haven’t updated all Summer! I can’t believe it. I thought I had, but it appears not. Now let’s see. I had a disaster with my nuc hive in November. I had put it on the wrong slope and the water wasn’t draining, and it was a putrid disgusting stinking mess when I opened up the hive for the first time after installing the nuc. The base of the hive was full of muddy water with disgusting larvae…
Finally I have a new blog post. Several reasons lay with my quietness over winter. It was winter! and things were quiet. The blog admin site when down and I couldn’t update for a while, and finally a bit of laziness set in! So my update – The bees exploded late August into September and I can tell over the last three weeks how incredibly packed the two hive boxes are of bees. I didn’t feed them at all, and…
Yesterday I did the full brood inspection as required by NSW regulation for beekeepers in Autumn. There is a great pamphlet here from the NSW Govt on how to over-winter bees. Over-Wintering bees is the name given to preparing your hive for winter. The first step is a full brood inspection of every frame to check for disease, whether there is healthy colony, ensure there is a queen and check the bees have enough honey (food) stores for the winter months to…
It’s been the wettest March on record, so much rain, that the people of NSW eastern seaboard are slowly withering in to a wet clump of humanity. I’ve check on the bees every day and they were barely leaving the hive. The flow box was so wet the wood was swelling and it was almost impossible to remove the observation door. But when the sun came up this morning, there was a universal hallelujah across Katoomba, and the…
On Saturday I planned my first big inspection since my Flow frames have been at bee capacity. So many things I wanted to check, but the main over riding thing was – do I have too many bees? I have wondered for a few weeks now if I am at capacity in my hive, and feel like the proverbial rabbit in headlights with not knowing what to do. What I have done so far is actually nothing. …