Hello from Kangaroo Island, South Australia

G’day everyone,
I’m new here but have been reading some of the great info posted over the last few weeks so thanks for that I’ve learned a lot
I’m on Kangaroo Island in South Australia and have a 7 frame flow hive and 10 frame brood box
I’m very lucky to be surrounded by top beekeepers that are willing to help me get started, my mentor has filled my bottom box with 10 frames of drawn comb, brood and honey and my bees are hard at work
I’ve been with a local pro removing feral colonies from walls and watched them cut and fix brood to frames and vacuum bees into boxes
I’m going to try and post a few photos for you, have a safe Xmas
Regards Brian

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Welcome to the Flow forum. I love the way you have painted your Flow hive! I think you are incredibly lucky to live where you do, with some of the most respected beekeepers and queen breeders in the world on your doorstep. Hope you enjoy your beekeeping journey. :blush:

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Thanks Dawn,
I’ve followed a lot of your posts and you would fit in well with the experts on our Island,it’s great that you and others on this forum are so willing to help the rest of us

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Thank you for the kind words. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to you and yours.

:blush:

Hi Brian,
You will gain so much confidence and information by doing bee removals. I spent a summer assisting a local beekeeper with a “poison-free” bee and wasp removal business, and this was the best experience ever with a high learning curve.

Welcome to the forum, and keep posting images too.

Cheers!

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I can’t agree with you more Tracey. I reckon that I gained a lot of knowledge by going to call outs. Even phone calls where I didn’t go out was VERY educational with one particular call. A lady told me that she could feel heat through the inside wall lining. That was a long time ago. Ever since then I use the hive heat to locate the position & extent of the nest. By doing that, you know exactly where to start cutting, if that is what’s needed.

Sometimes the nest can be in a different spot to where you would logically think it would be.

In the past I’ve given advice on lure boxes on this forum. My advice is derived from knowledge gained through call outs.

Howdy Brian,

where about on KI are you? My brother used to live there and kept bees- I visited a lot of times and know it pretty well. He had a property right in the middle of the Island- very isolated on Church Road. He also lived in Kingscote and Vivonne bay and was the lighthouse keeper at Cape Border. I love KI- the wildlife, fishing, etc. Your bees should do great- so much native vegetation. Be sure to post how your flow hive progresses. In Adelaide so far it’s been a great year- I assume KI will be similar- plenty more honey to come in the new year.

also if you hear of anyone sellign KI queens please post it on the forum- I tried to contact some queen breeders over there but didn’t get any calls back. It’s hard to get local queens here in Adelaide.

Yes starting to feel more confident especially after watching these guys cutting the nests apart with no suits or gloves !

Hi Jeff,
One of the nests was behind a wall of iron and when we removed the sheet we found three seperate large colonies one of which was under the floor…the boys still have to go back to get them and I hope to go along

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Hi Michelle,
I’m at Emu bay on the north coast of KI and have several big beekeepers not to far from here,one of them is my friend and he is breeding queens so I will find out if he sells them off Island and will let you know.
I was in Semaphore not to long ago and was tempted to contact you for a visit, next time I’m in Adelaide I would love to see your bees if possible

PS
Michelle your brother wouldn’t be Doug Seton by any chance?

Michelle has been removed by a coup. Her son has usurped her account and not changed the name. So Michelle is actually Jack! :smile: Don’t be fooled by him presenting himself as a girlie. :wink:

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it’s all true- my name is jack and perhaps I will finally end the confusion some day soon by updating mums (really my) profile.

@Snapper I know emu bay well- been fishing there quite a few times. Love the place. And no- my brothers name is Dan- I have heard the name Doug Seton though. Dan probably knows him. While the Island is large there aren’t that many people over there. I’d love to hear about any KI beekeepers who are exporting queens. there are some numbers listed on the internet but I’m not sure of they are still operating.

also- the profile is doubly deceptive as I am not in Semaphore- mum is- I am in prospect… :wink:

Ah, but creating confusion and thus being the centre of attention is very amusing! No?

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: