Perth (WA, AU) Flowhives and honey flow

Yes my crepe myrtle have just started flowering today!!! We will check the hive tomorrow and see what is going on. Thanks for your advice Snowflake

In that case, they may have swarming on their hive mind. You might want to take a look at this article which suggests how to assess the queen cells and what to do next:
http://www.wbka.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/wbka-booklet-english-PDF.pdf

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@SnowflakeHoney, from what Iā€™ve seen any time there is a honey flow on be wary of swarming bees. So far there has been two of the colonys here swarm, first coming out of winter (late spring!), second a couple of weeks ago when the Marri flow was picking up.
Are you smoking the hive when you are doing inspections?

Here is some bearding photos taken this week one day apart, totally normal in this weather. I still wonder how they all fit in on the cooler nights as every time I look through the observation window itā€™s chockablock! But they do nevertheless

@demak queen cells? You donā€™t sound concerned.
They say never expect to harvest during the first year however many doā€¦

@Dawn_SD nice to see youā€™re covering the bee issues here in sunny Perth, youā€™re a machine! These bearding bees, who are they and why arenā€™t they doing other, more productive jobs?

I was planning to harvest this weekend but these flaminā€™ bees keep emptying the Ffā€™'s when I turn my back! Although with this up coming heat making the honey more viscous it should flow well, I may however melt in my jacket whilst removing the normal framesā€¦
Stoopid heatā€¦

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Bees are bees wherever they be! :blush: Once you have a decent grasp of bee biology, you just have to understand the seasons and the climate of the location in question, then you can make some sense of what they might be doing just about anywhere in the world. :wink:

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@skeggley I typically use a small amount of smoke when going into the broodbox and supers to help clear bees while I remove the first frame.

Using smoke during the rest of the inspection really depends on the beesā€¦

ā€¦and then I use smoke when putting the supers back on to try and limit the amount of squashed bees.

I find I need more smoke in the temperature extremes (I.e below about 25degC and above 32degC) and in the later afternoon after about 3pm.

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My hive is bearding also, later on in the afternoon they even started to beard on the rear as well. Iā€™m in Perth northern suburbs.

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You win @Timbo2! Not so easy looking through the observation window eh?
Great stands, I like to make them wider so Iā€™m able to stack the boxes beside the hive whilst inspecting. Iā€™ve also heeded JeffHā€™s advice and blocked up the top vents, I was a bit sceptical as the hives are in full sun however it doesnā€™t seem to worry them, I have removed the vent covers on really hot days as a precaution and found them propolized up. I do also have insulation on the ceiling and above the hive. The other colonys in the shade donā€™t beard so much as cover the front and sides but arenā€™t nearly as productive as the ones in full sum.

@SnowflakeHoney smoke in the burbs seems ok then, smoke up the hill here sets alarms ringing! How do you go when they are bearding?

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@skeggley on total fireban days I donā€™t check the hive. If they are bearding extensively I will delay the inspection to another day. If I have to go in or its been a while since the last inspection I just make sure the neighbour isnā€™t hanging their washing outā€¦as I often then get a cloud of bees :cloud: :honeybee:

@Timbo2 have you got one brood box and 2 supers or two brood and one super on that hive?

Looks like the QX is above the first box? Wow, with that kind of bearding I would think I had to do something.

Yeh beats me too.
The honey seems to be filling very very slowly.
Probably a combination of the heat wilting the blossom, the heat slowing the gatherers, who are bearding like everyone elseā€™s, and the natural blossom cycle ending. I had hoped for a second pour but that is looking unlikely at the moment.

Hi Alan, yes I have one brood box, standard honey super and on top a flow hybrid box I made from a standard super box. I showed the picture to a couple of experienced beekeepers at last weeks meeting, (I was wondering if I should split them), they said no, all the hives are bearding because of the weather. They said drop it down to two boxes over winter, ie leave the flow hybrid on. Cheers Tim

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Thanks for all the advice. I obviously am so new that I have no idea what I am talking about, and no, I donā€™t have queen cells - will be checking again tomorrow to see what is going on in the hive.

What do you mean when you say the bees keep emptying the FFā€™s. Are they taking it down to the brood box?

@demak, hey the majority of us here on the forum are new, youā€™re not alone thatā€™s for sure. Iā€™ve only one season under my belt and Iā€™m still trying to get my head around the terminology and as all bee keepers have their own methods and opinions itā€™s no easier!
We are so lucky here with none of the troublesome pests that the rest of the world has that it makes it all much easier our main concern is swarming. Our bio security rocks, itā€™ll be the commercial guys that will eventually spoil it for us. I heard through a reliable source that a commercial guy from up north got intercepted in Gin Gin with hive beetles on board last season so that was a close call. One of the reasons Iā€™m all for registering at the ag dept.
The bees tend to move the nectar around the supers, something Iā€™ve observed through the inspection windows, Iā€™m assuming as a ripening process, and for a long time they were using the Flow frames (Ff) in the hybrid super for nectar and then moving it elsewhere, the liquid was a lot clearer than the darker honey colour. Now the side standard frames are fully capped they are storing honey in the Ff and capping them and last week before the storm we had, the Ff were nearly full and now Iā€™m waiting for them to fill again. In the arvo when I look they are nearly there then in the morning, not so fullā€¦ Iā€™m thinking they are consuming it overnight or as you suggest moving it down closer to the brood.
Good luck with your inspection tomorrow, in the heat, :sweat_smile:

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Hi We are in Bridgetown & have had our Super on for 2 Ā½ weeks, since then Marri blossom has been prolific, due to this we are ready to harvest for the first time tomorrow. All 6 frames are full, these are photos of the Bearding on the outside for the last 4 days, according to all comments, this seems quite normal due to the warmer weather. Very exciting & canā€™t wait for the 1st taste & the smell is unbelievable. Great site for information, thank you as we are newbies to Beekeeping.

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A sure sign the Marri blossom is finishing around our place is the Silver Eyes ( small fruit loving birds who put one peck in every grape) are in the grapes this afternoon.

poinciana

Asked my neighbour to whom the tree belongs.

@Jackygreg 2.5wks to fill your superā€¦Iā€™m jealous!

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Our first harvest
:sunflower:

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Congrats JackyGreg, the 1st extraction is always exciting. My 1st batch was nectar mostly from the Jackaranda me thinks and the honey tasted like butter menthol lollies, but without the menthol component.

I run a FH triple and extracted about 17 kgs over the weekend. Most of the honey wa lightly colored.

But 2 frames have this super dark, nearly blood red colored honey inside, any1 know where,which flower/plant this would come from. I live in the Stirling/Osborne park area.

thanks

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