It is vital that honeybee colonies have a good supply of high quality pollen in the autumn. This pollen provides the protein necessary for the winter bees to be produced so that a strong population goes into winter to provide the warmth in the cluster for the colony to survive. Many beekeepers in Victoria are going into winter with low …
Effect of extreme heat on bees
This summer has seen many days in a row of almost mid 40 degree temperatures in the north of the state where we have some of our hives. After the Red Gum had flowered and bees had collected good stores of high quality pollen, it was surprising to see that as January ended, there wasn’t any pollen left and not …
Summer Flowering Ironbark
Summer Flowering Ironbark is currently flowering and yielding nectar in the box- ironbark forest where we have our bees in the northern country of Victoria. This species (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) is better known for its more abundant winter flowering form. It is hard to work out what percentage is summer flowering , but it is less than the other form. The …
Red Gum is flowering
River Red Gum is flowering where we have hives in the northern country of Victoria. It hasn’t flowered well for us for several years so we are excited about the possibilities. When checking hives two weeks ago, there was excellent brood and the brood chambers had large areas of creamy pollen stored in them. This is typical of a Red …
Early spring
Early Spring is the most dangerous time of the year for the survival of beehives. During late winter as the daylight hours gradually increase, the queen starts laying eggs to produce bees for the upcoming season. During autumn, the queen laid eggs to produce the so called “winter bees”, which will live for a few months rather than the six …
Worst honey season ever.
The honey drought in Victoria has affected our apiary like most beekeeping operations this season. None of our sites anywhere in the state have honey. The hives up north on grey box had to be brought back down south and fed sugar to save them from starving and we are feeding sugar at all sites and all hives. Our main …
Summer honey prospects
The cold, wet winter and spring has many beekeepers in the box ironbark areas of Victoria saying that this is potentially the worst season for many years. The reason given is trees have put all of their energy into new leaf growth . Some trees will not flower for another twelve months and so there is little prospect for honey …
When should I start my hive?
This is a frequently asked question by beginner beekeepers. There is a fair bit to do to put together your first hive, when you buy the equipment it is raw pine and has to be nailed together and painted. The frames have to be assembled, wired and foundation embedded onto the wire. After a colony is added to the box …
Late winter
Bees have had a cold and wet winter this year and hopefully have not used up all their honey stores to get them through. We are now approaching the most dangerous time of the year for hives to survive. Queens will now have commenced egg laying as the daylight hours are increasing and field bees will be foraging for pollen …
Eucalyptus budding for future flowering
In the box ironbark forests around our beehives, there is some new budding in several species for next season. Yellow gum(Eucalyptus leucoxylon) has some smaller trees well budded for winter flowering and some trees are actually already in flower. Larger trees may bud in the winter and spring. Yellow Box (E.melliodora) has some budding and although not heavy, indicates that …