April is Sugar Shake Test Month. Each year in April beekeepers are encouraged to test their own hives for varroa and other pests using the simple sugar shake test. From 1 July 2020, the NSW Biosecurity Act requires all registered beekeepers in NSW to conduct at least 2 hive inspections per year for the presence of
We have been advised that now is the perfect weather for the fungal disease, CHALKBROOD, to take off in European honey bee, Apis mellifera, hives. It has been hot and now it is cooler and wet. Chalkbrood is caused by a fungus, Ascosphaera Apis, and it affects sealed and unsealed brood in a hive. Chalkbrood is
This is an article by a club member relating to internal Langstroth hive temperatures made over various summer and winter periods in 2016. It also includes notes and comments related to hive ventilation and humidity. Included are a number of graphs of the measured temperature variations. The PDF article can be found in the “links
One of our members constructed this Australian native solitary bee house suitable for any backyard. The insect entering the “hole” is a bee – not a wasp, and the bits of grass were placed there by the bees. These are the plans – suitable for building from any scrap or recycled timber / tin (no
For those interested in alternate bee hive design, this copy of the book by Abbe Warre and associated design plan makes interesting reading. Even if you do not plan to experiment with this hive design (and it could be modified to suit our removable frames), there is a wealth of general beekeeping information. Here is
General hive plans plans - document Slatted bottom board addition slatted bottom board - document So what is a “slatted bottom board” then ??