Exchange worker bees between colonies Advanced Exchanging workers between colonies is a great thing to learn how to do! You can boost weak colonies, help create new colonies and provide more help to colonies that need it. This method requires knowledge and understanding of bees and for this reason its placed under the advanced…
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CARBONARIA IN SUN AND SHADE When people buy bees from me they usually ask ‘What can hurt them? Should I be worried about flies or ants?’. My answer is always The Sun. The Sun is one of the biggest killers of native bees in the boxes we choose to house them in. The following article…
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Powell Split Frames – Hive split Powell split frames are a little invention I have put together to make the propagation of Austroplebeia australis easier. I believe they will also work for other species of stingless bee also. Watch this video to see what they are all about. About Powell split frames. I took my…
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Swarm capture 2 Mark is a Friend of mine who asked about capturing a swarm of native bees. I talked him through Dean Haleys method of capturing a swarm. Since then Mark has caught a few swarms and keeps me updated on his progress. I asked Mark if he would write a short article…
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Bees of North Queensland Recently I went north to have a look at the stingless bees that live in northern Queensland. I found a few that we do not have down south and saw differences with the ones we do. I also got the chance to interview Lewis Roberts, a local naturalist. Check out…
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Keeping Hives Close Together Intermediate Keeping hives close together is something most Native bee keepers will face once they get a few hives together. Small urban blocks don’t allow to much space for city bee keepers and this is a good way to accommodate housing more then 1 hive in a small place. Have…
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Stingless Bee Intermediate Natural hive duplication 2 Hive duplication is something I have always been interested in. The ability to make a new hive from an existing one means you can use any hive box to start your new colony in. The support offered by the mother colony means your new hive will…
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Stingless Bee Intermediate – Hive split Performing a hive split is not something that I do often. However, it is an important thing to know how to do successfully. An unsuccessful hive split with leave you with one of two things. A) A hive that appears to be working for the first 3-6 months and…
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Stingless Bee Intermediate – Building a Hive Building a hive is a great thing to do when working with stingless bees. The satisfaction of housing bees in something you have created is wonderful. This video is about building the hive I am currently using for my bees. I normally start bees off in…
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Stingless Bee Intermediate – Removing Brood Removing brood Removing brood from stingless bee hives can be a useful tool for many reasons. It can be used for transfers, boosting hives, making new colonies with the help of existing colonies and of course swarm capture. Removing brood from hives can be difficult to do without causing…
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