Found our new BeeWise queen yesterday. All good
some young larvae. Very quiet. Yeah!
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We saw two queens three months ago. On adjacent frames. Marked new queen red and dispatched old one. Inspected next month and found an unmarked queen but not marked queen. Inspected yesterday and found marked queen but not unmarked. So last month there must have been two queens also. Hence the confusion. I guess though the hive is looking better so let them float their own boat I think.
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FINALLY spotted the new queen (see the image below). Didnât spot her during the inspection so I couldnât mark her but I spotted her after slowly going through the photos afterwards. She seems to have quite a strong and prolific laying pattern based on what I could see across all of the frames.The hive has recovered to the point I was able to put the hybrid super back in place, which is timely as it looks like the trees and bushland nearby are about to flower.
Although I didnât test the moisture content of the honey that had been sitting in the flow frames it appears as though the dry warm conditions recently have reduced the moisture to the point I could have harvested the frames even though they were uncapped (I didnât harvest).
Unfortunately I hadnât stored the hybrid super perfectly and I ended up having to cut a small portion of the comb out of two of the traditional frames due to wax moth damage. I donât think it should bother the bees and Iâm anticipating theyâll just repair the frame (does anyone have any experience with this?)
Can you spot my new queen? 
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Yes, sheâs a ripper, well done!!!
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Right hand edge of the area of brood. Nice-looking queen. 
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I was thinking that as the marri is flowering quite well here now, better late than never, that I would still get a harvest this season. Until I went into the hives yesterday⌠Obviously smokeless, the moment I opened the box I had bees in my face. Once I pulled a frame I was mobbed. The cupboards were bare. I spent less than 5 minutes in each hive which was 4 minutes too long. I was followed some distance from the hives and even had to swat one persistent beeâŚI have done smokeless inspections before and have found it hit and miss.
2 colonys had no honey stores whatsoever and these were the nastiest. There didnât appear to be signs of robbing but they werenât happy for sure. I have checked these in the past and with stores they were OK.
This area it seems the marri is all talk this season unfortunately other gums are going to flower shortly including the swamp and lemon gums so this will hopefully rebuild their personal stores.
Still waiting in Bridgetown Western Australia. This time last year had 40Kgs. Opened up last week and, nothing. Still hoping!
It seems the trees the black cockatoos prune seem to flower best.
I inspected my hives yesterday and the long hive I did without smoke, the flow hive I smoked up but they were relatively calm when I took the flow super off to check on the new queen, she made it out alive and I pulled a couple of the centre frames from both hives and everything looked good. I didnât spend any time looking for her as I was more worried about starting a robbing war again.
The long hive is still building up with plenty of brood and some grubs sighted.
Lots of lovely Marri pollen going into the hives and my Marriâs are starting to flower, right on time.
I should get another harvest out of the flow hive this year and the long hive will be in a good position to add flow frames in spring.
Cameraâs up and running.
3 on the long hive and one on my flow hive.
I may change the flow hive cam over to the front of the long hive eventually.
Now the hard part⌠streaming
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Has anyone seen bees collecting from the sap of a red gum tree, sharing with ants? I have a video but are unable to download.
No. Would not have picked red gum from the Marri to be on the bees menu
Nope but I know that our Noongar brothers and sisters used the gum for medicinal purposes so perhaps thereâs something in that.
Are the red gums flowering yet down that way yet?
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They maybe taking it for propolis. I see bees one pencil pines at different times of the year collecting resin.
Adam
No the red gums arenât flowering but lots of new growth with blossom coming & same for the jarrah, fingers crossed. It was very bizarre seeing the bees getting the sap especially when thereâs heaps of meat ants around, their wings were going very fast 
I was down in Brunswick last week and it seemed the marri was flowering to Australind, slowly creeping down south.
Later flowering this year than last but there is a flow on finally, seems my thoughts of doom and gloom no flow was premature. The flowering cycle is as unpredictable as bees are!
Iâm glad I had honey frames from last seasons hybrids to feed the bees with during the extended dearth Iâve just experienced up here in my area on the scarp.
Having multiple different colonys itâs been interesting to see how they manage their stores differently.
The hives with a permanently added WSP box coped better than those without, no surprise really as the smaller sized box is predominantly pantry. This mitigates the brood arc in the Flow super issue.
I think we will be seeing swarms again soon.
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Is your WSP box under or above the flow super?
No. Have seen an other couple in flower towards town but
hives are being âmaintainedâ by other trees and shrubs.
Unless something happens soon the honey season is over.
WSP below the Flow super. RBK suggested it as an insurance policy during dearths. It was suggested adding it and moving the qx above it wintertime and below summertime but I just leave it above and view it a an extra brood box. Only the middle 4 frames get brood and it hasnât gone more than half way up the centre 2 frames. I will remove the outside frames and harvest the honey but more for adding new frames during swarm season to give the bees more work.
@busso, I think youâll find the marri will flower, just later in the season as it has here. The issue will be whether rains wash the nectar out. But fingers crossed for you guys anyway.
Jarrah and other gum trees have buds around here also.
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Just got back to Perth from Bridgetown (Western Australia). The further north you drive along Forrest Hwy, the more flowers. Still nothing at Bâtown though! Have fed FH 1 with front feeder. Doesnât fit front entry on FH2. Bought a top feeder but it doesnât fit under roof gable. Any suggestions as unless something changes, may be feeding this winter! Some of the deciduous trees are already starting to colour!