Hi RBK,
Yes the supplier of the nuc set it up with the newspaper and he has 30 years of beekeeping experience.
Just going along with what he recomends.No bees upstairs yet.
Another interesting thing was he burnt pure lavender in his smoker . Smell calms him and the bees he said
I think the next time my lavender needs a haircut I will dry some and use that also.
1 Like
Just wondering how your Perth bees are behaving?
My girls have always been really quite and docile, but in the last few days they have gotten quite defensive of the hive. The occasional bee even buzzes my in our yard about 5m from hive. Could it be the weather? I had a quick look through, it all looks ok, they have stores, room, and laying queen. Her laying looks a little slow for this time of year I would have thought, but still laying, once again wondering if itās because of the weird weather.
1 Like
I think the bees are a bit like me "when is all this wet, cold and wind going to end"
This weather has no resemblance to Spring what so ever.
3 Likes
Ok Bw bees here and flying as per instructions. When picked I them up I asked about a slatted rack and the owner hadnāt heard of them and scoffed at the idea telling me I need to look at what the commercial guys are using and learn from that. Get stuffed.
2 Likes
I love it! That is the way to go @skeggley!!! 
Read, listen and then make up your own mind and stick with it! 
In any case, the commercial guys are going to do what is cheapest and simplest. They are in it for the money, after all. They have numerous hives, so it doesnāt matter if their methods result in some losses. It matters a lot more to us hobby beekeepers. So 
to your bee supplier!
1 Like
To be honest I hadnāt really seen much mention of the slatted rack until seeing it mentioned on here. Havenāt run into one on the east coast of Aus yet, but there may well be some clubs promoting/using themā¦ I just havenāt come across them.
Are people using them in the west?
Since putting on the flow super the bees have calmed right down and are busy working the frames for the first time, which is pretty exciting to watch 
So Iām not sure if they did need more space or itās the better weather thatās supposed to arrive tomorrow and the next few days, it is predicted to be 20 a 30c.
But the girls are showing no aggression at all, back to normalš
3 Likes
So, it seems the bees are busy filling the flow frames (yay!). Two weeks ago there was nothing and the bees had just started to fill the gaps. Today, all but one of the flow frames have honey to varying degrees!
You couldnāt see the honey from any of the inspection windows because of how they are filling the frames, but it is thereā¦ 
Iāve got a hybrid super Iām going to put onto the hive in the coming weeks. If you look at the first photo you might notice a regular frame I have with the flow frames. I removed one of the flow frames to assist with managing the hive and cycling frames. Once I get the hybrid super on I will use that to help manage the hive/brood and keep the flow super dedicated to flow frames.
Unfortunately during inspection today I slightly damaged one of the frames (drone cells) in the brood box. If anyone is interested in seeing the images of bee larvae during development (normally capped cells) take a look at the pics I posted to the Thread - Bee Photosā¦
6 Likes
Looks like you have a pretty serious flow on in your corner of the world, any idea what the bees are bringing in? Do you have gums flowering?
I was talking to a guy the other day and he was saying there is a flow on and swarms galore however looking around thereās nothing much in flower, and a low pollen count, bottle brushes, a few eucalyptus, the leptospermums native frangipanis and some wild flowers but Spring hasnāt really been Spring, itās been wet windy and cold with only a few days over 20Ā° so far. A warmer start to the week peaking at 32Ā° ending with more rain and windā¦ We do need the rain though. My FF seem to getting filled then are suddenly empty. Maybe itās just where I am? The more urban areas, Iāve heard, are the places for hives at the moment.
1 Like
Our tree hive is swarming daily so there must be a flow somewhere. I think our bees are surviving on cape weed at the moment, with a bit of lavender and orchard tree flowers from us. Our purchased bees are still trying to build up numbers from winter, but were certainly looking better last check. Our caught swarms look amazing from the outside - will do our first check in a couple of days. We have bottle brush beginning to flower, but could really do with some gum flowering to kick things along - no trees anywhere near that up our hill 
Given what is in flower around me Iām assuming:
1 Like
If people arenāt aware of the bee biosecurity code of practice take a look at the thread I just created
This CoP is applicable to all beekeepers in Australia - hobbyists and professionals alike - so it is worth taking a look.
Thereās some gumtrees that have been flowering near me in Perth for about a week that the bees are loving. Donāt know what type (yellow flower caps, white-cream flowers, rough bark 4m high).
Lemon scented gums maybe?
No. The bark is rough and they are all pretty short.
Hi All.
Iām down on the south coast in Albany. Received my 5 frame nuc a fortnight ago and transferred them into the flow brood box Tuesday before last. So far so good.
Iām new to beekeeping and Iām enjoying this thread as itās nice to see and hear how fellow West Aussies are going.
I inspected my hive last Sunday and was surprised to see how fast they were drawing out comb on the new frames. In the 5 days since transferring them they had pretty much filled 1 and 3/4ās of another which was great to see.
These pics were taken last Sunday. Not the greatest, but you get the idea.
I had a quick look in the hive today and they have drawn out the last frame, but I didnāt see any brood, pollen or honey in the new frames. (Admittedly, I didnāt pull the frames clear out of the box.)
I guess the time to add the super is getting close, but just wondering if I should wait until the new comb is filled first, or is it ok to add the super as soon as they have drawn the comb?
Cheers,
Dave.
It depends on the bee numbersā¦ if the bees are pretty much covering the 6 central frames, which it sounds like they probably are then iād put the super on.
They have a bit of wax work to do on sealing up the flow frames so you might as well give them a chance.
But iāve only been doing it a year.
1 Like
Cheers Dunc. Might put it on this weekend.