After a seemingly endless COVID winter in lockdown here in Upper Beaconsfield, it is time to check on beehives for the new season. Hives have come through the winter in very good condition due to the very good honey season ending last autumn. The very good honey yield from Messmate Stringybark (Eucalyptus obliqua) means that hives have plenty of honey to get through and are still in fairly heavy doubles at the moment. Now is the time to lift the honey super up higher on top of at least one box of empty drawn out comb. The bees will transfer honey from the brood chamber to empty frames above the excluder to make room for the expanded area that the queen will require for egg laying.
Flowering prospects for this season are positive in some areas. Yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) is currently flowering and well budded. Red gum (Eucalyptus camuldensis) has a good budding.