Hiya Aaron, brave unpredictable bees. I did an inspection on Sumday too, first time this winter. Still plenty of stores in all of the hives except the one that nearly died out last summer during the dearth and rain. No drones around yet and as soon as I see one I’ll be keeping a close eye on them. It’s been difficult lately to get into the hives with the cool temps and rain. The numbers weren’t overflowing however all comb was covered in bees so put some supers back on to see what happens.
Last spring we had heaps of rain and the first day of sun one colony swarmed, there was nothing I could have done as there were no prior opportunities to get into the hive and make swarm preps, same sort of situation as you I guess.
Have a look through that doc from WBKA about swarm prevention for some ideas to prevent after swarms. I suppose, on the bright side, there’s plenty of time for the numbers to build coming into spring. Provided the queen mates of course…
Thanks skeggley!
Will check out the WBKA hive swarming prevention techniques
Cheers
I worry for my little bees. We received our nuc on the worst stormy day last September and while the bees took a while to move into the super, they did begin capping two middle frames before the cold weather set in. I left the super on guessing they would use what they had as store food.
We have a dozen or so tagasaste growing right by the hive and they have been loading white pollen into the hive everytime there is a break in the weather, which is fantastic to see.
We have had loads of hail here on the block in Pemberton today and haven’t done an inspection since before winter. Opened the back window this week and they all swarmed out at me, probably because it has been so cold. Anyway I am hoping that we may be lucky enough to get some honey this season. Reading posts last season from first timers who were getting honey within months of setting up new hives makes me concerned that I am doing something wrong.
No @demak you are not doing anything wrong. Took my bees about 14 months. However I didn’t do anything to encourage them . If you are worried, search for " bees not filling flow frames " or similar and get all the tips. Spraying honey or sugar onto frames was a popular trick to get things moving.
I might end up posting this question as a separate thread but I’ll ask it here for now…
For those in West Oz, what do you do with your burr comb and any (excess?) beeswax? If you just discard it, please send me a private message as my wife and I might like to recycle it for other purposes (click on my name, and then click on “
Message” in the upper right of the pop-up frame that appears).
Hi Demak
In Pemberton also. Wouldn’t stress as the season has been quite out of sorts this year.
Ended up melting beeswax and brushing it on the flow frames (quite a bit) to encourage the girls. The flow frames didn’t get any attention until there was a reasonable nectar flow which occurred in late March with the Marri and some local vineyards with ripe berries.
My traditional FD hive performed well vs the flowhive. Strong nectar flow is the key and hopefully the Jarrah plays ball this year.
Cheers
The flowhive:
Hi West Aussie Flowies, I need some info please, “CANOLA” have any of you had experience with Canola in your Flow Frames?,How did you go? Canola has just started flowering here and I am curious as to weather or not to wack my Flow Frames on. I have had my hive for a year and I am a Newbie.
Hi Bruce, I see @Yabby just mentioned it (on another post) but not sure if he is using Flow frames.
@BruceLonsdale, isn’t one of the problems with Canola that it crystallises quick? If that’s the case just make sure you extract sooner than later.
This thread has a bit more on it: Honey from Canola
Does anyone know much about BBees Community here in WA?
I saw them on Gumtree and Facebook and they are able to supply a nuc in September.
Has anyone bought a nuc from them?
Thanks, Phil.
Ive seen the adverts in Gumtree, but dont know anything about them either
Are u able to source queens from beewise or guifoilyes
Another option is the apiarists society which im a member of, perhaps someone their might be able to help.
Thanks @Rodadon, Yes, I have a nuc on order from BW. However, it’s a long wait (Nov/Dec), whereas BBees are Sept. Thanks for your reply.
Hi my name is Jenny and I live in Bridgetown. Just got my flow hive and will be getting queen and colony Nov Dec. I am looking for a mentor or someone local for help.
Hi my name is Jenny and I live in Bridgetown. Not sure how to use this forum but im giving it a go. Just got my flow hive and have a queen and colony coming in Nov Dec. Am looking for someone local to guide me through my first tentative steps. Cheers
@jen63 Welcome to the forum 
I’m not local as I’m up in the metro area but feel free to ask questions here seeking advice. Is there anything in particular you are looking to query at the moment?
- What to seal your super and brood box with?
- Foundation or foundationless frames?
- Wax or plastic?
- How often to inspect?
- Do you need to feed?
- What to do over winter?
I can recall a thousand questions when I first thought of starting to keep bees so I asked questions, researched online, and read books. I’m not sure what you do/don’t currently know but whatever your level of knowledge it doesn’t matter - just ask. This forum is full of helpful people.
Thank you SnowflakeHoney. Yes I am reading books and surfing the net and watching videos, but at the end of the day I want some help to put my bees into the hive and just generally have someone close I can have coffee with or visit or they visit me. Books can be intimidating if you don’t understand the basics. I will definitely use the forum as after reading through I can see how much everyone helps each other out. I enjoyed seeing everyone’s photos and hope to be posting some of my own in a few months. That is if I can work out how to do that. Bit technically challenged. Keep a look out for me and my questions.
Hi Jenny, i’m not so far south as I am close to Perth city. Should you even be up this way, send me a personal message and i’d love to catch up for a coffee, show my flow hive, and answer any questions you have.
on top of that, asking questions as you have here is the best way to go, to reach out to those just out of your general reach.
when it comes to bees: they are somewhat easy to manage and look after - they do most of the work! You need not open up your hive an investigate if you don’t feel the need to, but it sure is interesting and will open your eyes once you have. The basics can be considered very basic for those who’ve done it a few times, but only by asking can we know how best to explain and share what we know.
good luck!
Hi Jenny
Welcome, welcome!
I’m located in the north eastern suburbs of Perth. Surviving my first winter
This thread is very helpful with their vast knowledge and experiences. I know how it feels like starting out, so much to learn, not really sure what we don’t know, what we should tackle first, the list goes on
But ask your questions and there are no silly questions (obviously reading up first might help), thereafter you should have a feel of what information you will need initially
And if you managed to find a fellow bee-keeper around your area, make them your bee buddy. It’s much more enjoyable to share it with others
Good luck
@David_Hopper I’m going to have to disagree with one comment, or at least clarify it further:
You need not open up your hive an investigate if you don’t feel the need to
@jen63 For reasons of pest/disease management and general biosecurity you do need to open up your hive and inspect your hives (brood chamber) at least a few times between Spring and Autumn (Sept/Oct thru to Apr/May). You don’t necessarily have to do it every week but a proper brood inspection is the only way to understand what is going on with your hive. It is also the only way to help ensure your hive is truly healthy and minimise the risk of of spreading any pests/diseases unintentionally.
@jen63 I agree - the books can seem daunting. The first bee course/workshop I attended (about 15months before I got my nuc) was run by Fair Harvest in Margaret River. It was a day workshop where we spent the morning in ‘class’ going through theory and then went out for an actual hive inspection. If they are still running the workshop it is worth attending.