“The supply of white sugar (sucrose) to honey bee colonies can be a valuable management tool for beekeepers. It is used to supplement a shortage of stored honey to prevent starvation of the colony, or to stimulate a colony to artificially promote breeding.” This from an article published in “The Australian Beekeeper” by Doug Somerville…
A copy of a 1958 article written by Colonel Pulling of the “Amateur Beekeepers Association of NSW Colonel Pulling Competition” fame was recently found by one of our members and is reproduced here in PDF format for all those interested. It can be found in the “Links and Documents” section of this site for viewing
“One of the best features about keeping bees is having the joy of harvesting your own honey. There are many ways to complete the task and there are different types of equipment available to extract honey. The following pages show just one way of extracting honey from Langstroth hives. Langstroth hives are popular, they are
“A natural product combining pollen and lactic acid may help boost the defense of bees against colony collapse disorder (CCD), which has led to the destruction of 10 million beehives internationally in the last six years…… The researchers who developed the product, in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Karolinska Institutet, have studied the way lactic acid bacteria can fight bacterial infections in both bees and humans, with the results published in scientific journal PLOS ONE.”
This very interesting short video appeared on the internet but has since gone. It gives a different perspective regarding how bees manage to keep the brood warm in cold conditions. (ps.. I hope the author would not mind – it is intended here for non profit club for those interested in beekeeping.
A research background paper has been added to the links and documents page of this site that will be of interest to all beekeepers. “The analysis of honeybee products provides a novel approach to environmental monitoring in Australia. Bees typically forage several kilometres radius from the hive, making them ideal samplers of the surrounding environment
For those interested in a good collection of “bee” photos, check out this site.
“Despite a remarkably intensive level of research effort towards understanding causes of managed honeybee colony losses in the United States, overall losses continue to be high and pose a serious threat to meeting the pollination service demands for several commercial crops.” Honey Bee Health
Click on the following link to view what I considered an excellent introductory beekeeping article. Some of it of course may not be relevant to common Australian practice but is nevertheless an interesting overview. Small Scale Beekeeping
An article by Shona E Blair, PhD.
A very interesting in depth article in pdf format. Worth a read ! To quote from the article: “The purpose of this bulletin is to distribute and make available information on the manufacturing, processing and marketing of value added bee products. It is directed at beekeepers as well as non- beekeepers, small entrepreneurs, extension officers
A interesting article submitted by Gary Duckett discussing “that in the parasitic relationship between the European honey bee and the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida, the honey bee’s alarm pheromones serve a negative function because they are potent attractants for the beetle”. SHB and the Honey Bee
For all those interested in history..
The attached article was sent in by a viewer (Gary Duckett). Although not recent, It is an interesting publication that sort of flies in the face of the so called generally accepted knowledge of bee defensive behaviour including several meteorological factors and one of “comb coverage”. effect of meteorological conditions on the behaviour of bees
A news article from “ABC/Reuters, ABC Science Online” is also included here in pdf format for those interested.. Pesticides put bee colonies at risk: study Although the article is referring to bumblebees, it may be of relevance to common honey bees and is certainly topical at the moment. Another article presumably about the same study can
Dave Burgess has submitted this Honey Mead recipe – it has been added to the “Links and Documents” page of this site. Enjoy!
For those looking for Queen Bees in the Hunter Valley Area :- John Banfield: Redhead 0249448071, 0402337968 Col Wilson: Kurri 0249 304950 Greg Mulder: Laguna 0249 988 565 They will all post queens to you so distance shouldn’t matter.
The attached document details changes to the NSW beekeepers Licensing Service submitted by Mick Rankmore, Regulatory Specialist, Apiaries, Agricultural Compliance NSW Department of Primary Industries PO Box 546 Gunnedah, 35-37 Abbott Street, Gunnedah NSW 2380 Tel: 02 6741 8374 F: 02 6742 4018 Mob: 0402 078 963 Email: email@example.com Web: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au NSW Government
I set up a small experiment to get a handle on exactly how much effect the colour of a hive body and cover has on the heat transfer (by sunlight) to the inside of the hive. The following are my observations so far. I need to make more measurements before reaching any conclusions but I