Perth (WA, AU) Flowhives and honey flow

Is anyone else monitoring temperature and humidity in their hive? If so, what temperatures are you noticing currently? Given I didn’t spot my queen on the last inspection I’m now wondering about my current temp profile…

(my last inspection was 8days ago)

Ask @Dawn_SD. She has an Arnia system and is accustomed to reading the graphs. Still waiting for my Arnia, just investigating coz here we now only have 4G and the Arnia doesn’t work with that yet.
Jealous of your monitoring system:smirk:

Hi @Webclan, I have been emailing @Dawn_SD for her opinion on the Arnia system; thanks for the suggestion. Just for your own clarification, in Australia we have 4G and 3G networks - it is the 2G network that has/is being shutdown. The Arnia works on both 2G and 3G networks. I’m currently waiting for them to clarify what frequency bands in the 3G spectrum the device works on.

Those graphs above come from a different, simpler, monitoring system that I connect to via bluetooth. All winter last year my hive was typically low to mid-20s, occasionally 20s, as monitored by the same device… The temperature drop is just a little sooner than I was expecting, but perhaps given that the other day was our coldest May day in 4yrs I shouldn’t be too surprised.

Where do you put the temperature probe, Alan? Arnia tells me to put the temp probe tip as close to the middle of the brood nest as possible. The humidity probe sits at the edge of the top of the brood box, next to the hive wall. Of course if you go broodless over winter, it is going to be hard to do what I do. :blush:

Hi @SnowflakeHoney. I wish we still had 3G. It seems our area here is selected to only run on 4G. Not sure if it’s the whole Byron area or just us in the hills here where reception is fairly marginal at the best of times. Telstra sent out messages a few weeks back and it sounded like we are the lucky chosen ones to be rid of 3G. NOT SO! Can’t have my Arnia now.
The Arnia mob is communicating with Telstra now to see if there is some loophole. Haven’t heard back yet. :scream:
That’s pretty cool for a brood nest. Wonder where your probe is?

@Dawn_SD My device actually sits just above the Qx atop the gap between frame 4 and 5. It isn’t a probe per se, but a small pcb that measures temp and humidity. This is the device:

Ah, so I think we are comparing apples and oranges. Your is hive temperature. Mine is definitely brood temperature. The probe tip sits in the bee space between two frames of brood in my case, probably at least 5 cm from the top bar of the frame. The humidity is probably comparable, but temp is not. :blush:

Dawn, if you keep posting on this thread I’m afraid we are going to have to make you an honorary sandgroper!

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I would be deeply honoured. :smile: I know what it means, by the way. This isn’t the whole story, but I have read around it:

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Yep better than a banana bender or crow eater that’s for sure. :wink:
Just in case anyone is wondering what one looks like…

:sunglasses:

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I packed a colony down for winter last weekend, removed the Flow super with plans to do the others but they are still jam packed with bees, still wondering if I was premature with gums still flowering and the sun still shining through… The supers here aren’t filling but the bees are still hanging out there en masse twiddling their scopals.
My friends in Mt Lawley however haven’t stopped harvesting since spring… 10 frames a week, 8 hives… Terrible eh?
There’s something to be said for living down in the flatland suburbia…

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Hi Skegs,
You and me both mate. :disappointed: I have some trees which are flowering for the 2nd time in less than 12 months, others are flowering well out of season.
I left my Flow super on last year and nearly lost the hive thinking there was an orderly succession of flowering trees…and there wasn’t. This year with the flow hive off everything wants to flower. How long this will persist is the big dollar question.
Next year I should have successfully split and with two hives I can have a bob each way. :relaxed:

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West Aussies will recognise this flower, and what a bee magnet the pincushion hakea is.
This one is in my garden and shows the bees working it on a Tasmanian winter’s day.

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Yep, beautiful flowers, just planted another two this weekend. :+1:
Like most of the eucalypts here flowering for the second time this year! This second bloom we are having is much more prolific than the first round at the beginning of spring which makes me wonder what’s going to happen this upcoming Spring…
Grevilleas beginning to flower now also.
Although there’s plenty of activity around the hives entrance I am noticing a decline in numbers in the supers now possibly brought on by these chilly mornings.

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This post I just made might be of interest given it is an online course developed here in Australia:

http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/online-beekeeping-course/11522?u=snowflakehoney

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And for anyone looking to sell their honey, you might like this ABC article:

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Hi

Inspected my hives yesterday and one of them had 5 capped queen cells over 2 frames. I’m panicking now!

I believe it was my mistake of shaking off a laying worker hive that was placed next to it and all the bees went to the nearest hive. I’m guessing here but they must have killed off the existing queen.

We have just started our winter and temps are around 6-25C and will continue to get colder. Do the queens have a chance to mate or are they doomed? :frowning:

Hiya Aaron, I suppose the logical question would be did you see eggs during the inspection and where on the frames were the qc’s?
Although we are coming into cooler weather there are still plenty of eucalypts flowering so I’d imagine plenty of forage. Here in the Hills I’ve not seen any drones for a while but there in the north it may be totally different.
Hopefully you’ll get some advice from our experienced members like @Dee and @Dawn_SD and of course @JeffH.

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Hi skeggley

No eggs or larvae were sighted unfortunately. Capped broods, half of the frame, on 3 of the 10 frames.

Saw some drones at other hives but not much.

Cheers

Well if you still have drones down there I don’t thing there’s any need to panic. Yet. :wink:
I’m curious as to what the others think about the queen being bumped by the laying workers though.
Hopefully the rain holds off so the new queen can get out to the dca. And back of course!
Keep us updated.

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