Comments on: The Ultimate Beeginner’s Guide to Aussie Backyard Beekeeping (2019)

By: cp-admin

cp-admin — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 07:05:01 +0000

In reply to Alex. Thanks Alex.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:29:51 +0000

Great information thanks Glen! You helped me find a passion for bees, looking forward to getting my own come spring. I didn’t realise who had written this article until I got to the end! All the best, Alex from Lismore.

By: cp-admin

cp-admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 09:02:08 +0000

In reply to Liz. Hello Liz thanks for reading my blog. There is no way I can answer your question. You would be much better off reaching out to local beekeepers & your beekeeping club. Good luck. Orara Valley Honey.

By: Liz

Liz — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:20:08 +0000

My question is:
I live on the beach. I have 5 hives and a NUC. The NUC will be leaving soon to it’s new home. My honey yield is VERY small. I have 3 flow hives and 2 langstroth. Just converted my hybrid flow to langstroth.

My garden size is 1000n2. The beach is in front of our garden, so lots and lots of space.

I’m a diligent committed beekeeper and conduct checks every 2-4 weeks.
I’ve had two hives swarm and built one if my Langstroth from one is the swarms. The other swarm is in the NUC.

But little honey?? I am puzzled. Do I have too many hives to sustain productive honey manufacture? We live in Townsville, NQ. Other beekeepers in my area and my local bee club, have great yields.
I’m so jealous. How can I improve my honey production?

By: cp-admin

cp-admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 06:48:44 +0000

In reply to Maree. Hello Maree, thanks for your interest. The best practice is to requeen your hives regularly with gentle, disease-resistant queens. There is no evidence that defensive bees help to control small hive beetle. I'm sorry I don't plan to provide medical advice in any of my articles apart from avoiding bees if you have any sort of reaction.

By: Maree

Maree — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 23:09:02 +0000

Excellent advice & extremely helpful. Thank you Glenn. One questions & one recommendation.
Will back yard bees naturally re queen & sort that out since they are a community & manage this themselves much more effectively than humans? I’m aware there are more pros than cons but wonder if there is any place for this type management as a good strategy. Our hives have been destroyed by small hive beetles in the last five years & after another ‘off’ we started bee-keeping again in last in 2019 with a swarm that we helped collect in town. This is an angry lot of bees & I wonder if their anger helps control these beetles. What is “best practise”?
We’ve had a hive or two on & off for 30yrs. First off happened due to severe bee allergy development with epipen on hand. Over time this person’s allergy settled to now mild so we introduced hives again. Now a moderate/severe allergy has developed in one of the next generation & for us bee-keeping is a family affair. Knowing about this allergy this family member helped in a closed shed with extracting from the frames last weekend but got one sting near the end. We’d taken prescribed antihistamines to the shed & had a flexipak in a nearby freezer. Having someone helping in the shed able to get this person to breathe slowly, sit down & help them to the house was essential. Next step is discussing with our GP & getting an epipen. I wonder if it’s worth including something about bee sensitivity/allergies on another blog as you provide excellent, clear, well flowing information Glenn.

By: cp-admin

cp-admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 06:51:11 +0000

In reply to Haidee.

Hello Haidee, The bees used mostly for the production of honey in Australia are Apis mellifera. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/BEES/euro_honey_bee.htm

By: Haidee

Haidee — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 23:49:39 +0000

What breeds of bees can be used in Australian beekeeping? (for a school agriculture project)

By: cp-admin

cp-admin — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 04:15:19 +0000

In reply to Jenny Cambers-Smith. No problems Jenny. Enjoy your Flowhive. Best wishes, Glenn Locke

By: Jenny Cambers-Smith

Jenny Cambers-Smith — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 06:44:45 +0000

Thank you for the useful information. I’ve bought and assembled a hybrid flowhive and wanted to know how best to site it and get started – now I know!