Hi All, just looking for some advice for a hive in the Brisbane area. I have a Flow2 hive which is 6 months old starting from a 4 frame nuc and a newly mated Queen bought from Debra at 2 Busy Bees. They are doing really well despite a wet summer and we have 3 flow frames almost capped with the other frames a little behind. With the weather about to cool down we will only harvest a couple of frames at first and then wait to see how quickly they are refilled. at the moment we seem to have a significant flow. During the middle of the day, there are lots of bees bearding outside the entrance and this continues into the night. by morning they have all re-entered the hive.
I have 2 questions
We haven’t done a brood inspection for over 1 month as I feel that if we open the hive it will delay the harvest and they may miss out on a good days forage. It this a reasonable assumption and when should I open the brood given that the bees seem to be thriving?
I am considering purchasing a second brood box to give them more room and maybe delay the need to splint in spring. From reading this forum, most posters recommend seeking advice from keepers in the local area to find out what suit the colonies best. Our short winters have cold nights for about 3 weeks only but lovely warm days.
Hi Matt, I’m in Buderim. I felt the need to split a colony last week, plus another one the week before. This was primarily to preemptively stop the bees from swarming. It’s bearding at the entrance, coupled with lots of bees occupying the roof cavity that made me decide to take this action, not a brood check.
My advice would be to monitor the population of the colony via the roof, assuming that the bees have access into it. I’d look in once a fortnight.
I take issue with “3 weeks of cold nights” Peter48 used to say six weeks, however I think it’s more. Having said that, I’ve seen strong colonies start to prepare for swarming as early as late July. Therefore adding a second brood box now wont stop a colony from swarming, especially if the conditions are right for it.
I agree, single digit nights. For me a cold night is when I decide to light the fire. However that doesn’t stop bees from preparing to swarm, as early as 4 weeks after the shortest day.
We need to remind ourselves that they are “European” honey bees. Our cold nights are probably equal to European cold nights during springtime, while bees are swarming.
Hi Jeff, Thanks for that advice. I think your winters are likely to be a little more chilly on Buderim Mountain than suburban Auchenflower. Our hive is nestled in the patch between our house and the neighbours and we’re only 3klm from the city but I agree that our winters are likely to resemble a spring evening in Europe.
I really appreciate any advice. The pandemic seems to have put a stop to a lot of club activities and there doesn’t seem to be any clubs close to home, so getting advice with local knowledge is proving a bit of a challenge. We seem to have negotiated the first six months establishing the colony ( reading everything I can get my hands on) I am very anxious about spring as I don’t want my bees to swarm and bother the neighbours and I don’t want to lose bees and weaken the colony either.
This forum is a great resource of information.
Thanks again.
You’re welcome Matt. Your bees look to be in a beautiful spot. Are there any Golden Pendas in your area? Mine is currently heavy in bud, which indicates that a massive Golden Penda flowering is not far away. Mainly because mine very rarely flowers heavily, while all the rest in the area are in full bloom, which makes me jealous.
If you follow my advice in regards to swarm prevention, you should be ok for the most part. I differ from the norm, in that I practice preemptive swarm prevention splits, in preference to inspecting weekly & waiting for swarm cells to appear. With my strategy, you go in to split, not look for queen cells. Then you don’t need to go back in for another 4-5 weeks, when it will be time to split again.
Bare in mind that there are no certainties with beekeeping. Sometime bees have their own agenda, so take what I say as “in the majority of cases”.
I haven’t seen any Golden Pendas but we are very close to the botanic gardens so there’s a good chance they have some. After the floods there are flowers everywhere. The cocas palms are in flower and full of bees. As this is our first year beekeeping I’m much more aware of what flowers are around.
it’s the same up here Matt, flowers everywhere. The Golden Pendas will only be a part of it. My bees are in a bit of a honey flow at the moment, in between the rain.
My north Brisbane bees are incredibly productive right now.
One hive I started almost 12 months ago, the other in September (both from Nucs). Both are 80% or more filled with honey, after already providing 6kg of honey so far.
Hi Jeff
I was out walking yesterday afternoon and spotted the same a couple of blocks away. That explains the bright yellow pollen coming into the hive. We have 3 flow frames almost fully capped and the other 3 not too far behind. I am interested to see how long the flow lasts as the nights are beginning to chill and the bees are not bearding at night nearly as much.
Hi Matt, I think the flow will last right up until winter, provided the weather doesn’t interrupt it too much.
I saw a nice row of golden pendas in flower on the ABC news last night as the reporters were following Scomo (our PM) around.
I’m currently taking all of the honey out of honey supers, if it’s ready. The reason being that we’re in a honey flow, plus it’s worth remembering that as the nights get cooler, bee colonies will constrict the brood to a degree, thus replacing it with honey. I’m finding good honey arcs above brood in brood boxes at the moment.
Peter48 used to say six weeks, however I think it’s more. Having said that, I’ve seen strong colonies start to prepare for swarming as early as late July. Therefore adding a second brood box now wont stop a colony from swarming, especially if the conditions are right for it.
