Alan Wade Polistes chinesis 47 cell nest (above and below) from Jerrabomberra Wetlands Polistes humilis from Fogg Dam NT August 2018 In Part I, we briefly examined the origins of advanced eusocial behaviour amongst ants, […]
Alan Wade Last month we discussed why bees swarm and the difference between swarming (simple queen replacement) and supersedure (colony fission to establish a new colony). We then went on to explore simple swarm control […]
Alan Wade The one colony – One queen principle One of the fundamental operating tenets of any honey bee colony is that it will support only one queen, an innate characteristic of the eleven or so […]
Welcome to Two Queen Land Two-Queen hives are enigmatic to say the least. Here is one historical setup we’ve finally sorted and learnt from. Source: Moeller’s 1978 United States Department of Agriculture Report 161 If […]
Alan Wade In the two previous blogs we’ve visited autumn closedown. Trouble is this year, any boxes of stickies that have been put back on hives for clean up were promptly refilled. Take the illustrated […]
Alan Wade Robert Banker an apiarist to emulate In the mid 1970’s, Robert Banker, a major collaborator in the revision of the standard text The Hive and the Honey Bee, vice-president of Apimondia and the […]
Bee Buzz Box A Simple Swarm Control Guide August-September 2018 Part I Alan Wade Never let old beekeepers get together! Like seasoned fishermen, they’ll spin you some tall yarn about the bumper honey crops they […]
Spring requeening October 31 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Swarm cells at margin of brood nest 12 November 2016 – well time to requeen Maxi Apiary Requeening Wed 31 October 2018 Category: Heavy Lifters working party […]
Supersedure cells on comb face 2 November 2016 (offset – central comb area) – a good case to requeen To requeen or not In my long experience of running honey bee colonies, I’ve finally twigged […]
Mini Apiary Requeening Wed 17 October 2018 Category: Heavy Lifters working party Marked queens are easier to find and their loss is a signal that supersedure has likely taken place […]