Hi Dawn I spent my whole time this morning thinking about the inaccuracy of my answer. I agree that the bees wax the inside of the hives, also they put a wax coating on frames etcā¦ Itās just not enough to protect untreated pine boxes. Itās probably the areas that bees canāt get to, to wax is where the trouble starts. I have lots of boxes out the back to show why I decided to treat everything (pine, that is) from now on about 15+ years ago.
Iām convinced that washboarding has something to do with coping with heat or humidity, or both.
Aww, sorry to cause you so much worry, Jeff. Just want to help new beekeepers to think about what they are doing and why. Plus take into account what the bees do too. 
After all, we donāt paint framesā¦ 
Thank you Dawn 
you donāt have to apologize, I did it to myself. I should have thought a bit more about what I was typing.
You & I donāt paint frames, however some newbees do
@JeffH, thank you for your time to reply. Iām a little bit strange too 
. By strange, I mean I come from a long line of eccentric ppl who walk the path least taken Iāll call you soon. Probably when half the kids are at school, so I can hear you over the full roar 
Well done Belinda, Iām sure weāll get on fine. Iām probably a little bit eccentric. Iām like you, I grow a lot of stuff. I donāt go overboard with anything. I guess if I was real eccentric, I would grow a lot of one thing & ignore other stuff. I try to balance it out so that things run out just in time for the new season harvest. Sweet corn from last season ran out just in time for for our recent harvest, for example.
I think that that in itself is eccentric.
Anyway I look forward to your call, cheers
The one thing I found out is that if you donāt paint both sides of the inspection panels they will swell in the humidity and they are very hard to get out. I shaved a little bit off them and then painted inside as well. Been fine over the last year.
Good luck with everything. Lots of experience available on this forum.
Gaz is that just with the pine or the red cedar too?
Definitely the pine but the cedar is more durable. I would oil or paint it both sides on the inspection panels as the bees donāt touch those surfaces anyway and the moisture wonāt get in then.
Hi, I am new to both this site and to bee keeping. I have one hive, native Aussi bees in a log. They sit in the middle of the veg garden and are very active and seem well established after 6 mths. Love them, I just love watching them return with loades āsugar bagsā.
Welcome shazz, Iām new here too, but everyone has been very welcoming and helpful.
Hi Shazz we have 3 varieties of native bees as well as a couple of flow hives. All are doing so well here in Brisbane. Loads of helpful advice from all experienced bee keepers the world over on this site.
Good luck.
Hi @Shazz & welcome! Thatās my favorite part (besides honey) of beekeeping 
Iām thinking you might mean āpollen bagsā though, not sugar/nectar - the little rounds of yellow, orange, cream or sometimes red stuff on their legs, right? Some of us like to call them āpollen pantsā 
Now that is cool! Please post us a pic if you can!
Thank you for your kind welcome messages. My bees are the native Australian stingless bees. I think they are nicknamed āsugarbag beesā because of how they look when they return home.
Sure thing 
Wow, shows you what I know! Now I really need to see picsā¦
Hey Roderick just starting out live in Campbelltown looking to purchase some bees any ideas ?
Thank you
Hi Eva, they call the honey from Aussie native stingless bees āsugarbag honeyā. Here is my video of harvesting a little bit of it, after we moved the colony into a smaller box a few years ago.
cheers
Hi Brendan,
You can get bees in a variety of ways, a full hive, 5-frame Nuc, package of
bees or a swarm. Itās getting late in the season for swarms, thereās a
waiting list for packages and full hives can be pricey. You may find some
Nucs amongst some beekeepers out your way that are splits. Gumtree is
another site worth checking out too. Just be wary about disease and the
quality of the bees with the hive, also check the age of the comb in the
hive, and that itās not too dark.
As it happens I do have a couple of Nucs that are ready to go up into a
full hive, they are destined to be transported to a site in north west
Sydney but I am willing to part with them. I am located near Chatswood so
itās a bit of a drive but let me know if interested.
Hey mate thanks for the reply just waiting for my flow hive Iām a newbie to this game so got a lot to learn will get back to you regarding buying some of your bees
Thanks Brendan
Jeff & Wilma, thank you for this video!! My whole family enjoyed it & and I truly appreciate the fascinating new knowledge 
Spiral combs!!! So cool