Stingless bee basics – Hive rubbish removal Hive Rubbish Removal Knowing what your bees are throwing out of your hive is a good way to see the health of the hive in the beginning stages of its growth. It can tell you if your hive has pests, is cleaning, is growing in bee numbers or…
Stingless Bee Basics – Swarms Swarms are something you can expect when you own a hive of stingless bees. While swarms can be a nuisance they have a role to play in the life cycle of the Australian native stingless bee. Check out this brief run through of 4 different types of swarms both…
Stingless Bee Basics – Chemicals Chemicals that are harmful for bees Something people want to know when first purchasing a hive is what chemicals could possibly hurt their new friends. Because there are so many chemicals kept in and around the house, it’s hard to know which ones are safe. In this video I will…
Bees in the cold part 3 Guest post written by Dean Haley In this blog post I dig deeper into the properties of wooden boxes and foam insulation. We build an insulated cover and I test this with bees in Applethorpe QLD with temperatures as low as -2.4C In bees in the…
Bees in the cold Guest post written by Dean Haley Stingless bees are widely regarded as being unable to control nest temperature like honey bees do. For the vast majority of stingless bees this is very true. Some species however, such as our T.carbonaria and A.australis extend into temperate areas with colder Winters and frosts.…
Interview with Ailton Fontana Ailton Fontana Recently I conducted an interview with Brazil’s very well respected stingless bee keeper Ailton Fontana. I asked him his story of how he got started and quizzed him about indigenous stingless bee keeping in Brazil. As a part of furthering knowledge, I wanted to interview people from…
Mating behaviour of A.australis Written by Dean Haley Unusual mating behaviour of A.australis has been observed by Allan Beil of QLD Australia. Allan has hundreds of australis colonies in glass topped boxes set up for observation. Unlike other species of stingless bees in Australia, australis queens appear to mate in the box and…
Interview with Alan and John Waters Today I had the pleasure to meet with two long time stingless bee keepers who happen to be brothers, Alan and John Waters. Both Alan and John keep a variety of species including Tetragonula carbonaria, Tetragonula hockingsi and Austroplebia australis. Alan and John demonstrated a vertical…
Interview with Kevin Stiller Today I met with Kevin Stiller! Kevin is a man who I can tell has a lot of native bee knowledge. He has kept honey bees for 48 years and only recently given it away. His interest with native bees however remains strong and it shows. Kevin is retired…
Interview and lessons from Allan Beil Recently Dean and I went to visit Allan Beil. We spent a couple of days learning from this very kind, helpful man. Allan is a conservationist and has helped many scientists find the information they need about native bees. If you have read a scientific article…