Perth (WA, AU) Flowhives and honey flow

WHAAAAAAAT??? :disappointed_relieved: :disappointed_relieved: :cry: :cry: :sleepy: :sleepy: :wink:

1 Like

Late August I had at 3 or 4kg from memory (canā€™t find my note)
8 Oct I had a 5.9kg harvest
14 Dec I had a 6.6kg harvest. It also looks like Iā€™ve got another 8-10kg that will be ready in the next few weeks too.

2 Likes

Has anyone taken a close look at the flowers on the trees? I took a look yesterday at the trees starting to flower around me and not a single one had any nectar :worried:

This is what occurred last year (scant nectar) although I hope it is only an issue with the initial flowers or because it has been so hot the last few days. A few years ago if you stood under a branch and shook it youā€™d be covered in nectar. :crossed_fingers:

1 Like

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to introduce myself and ask how others are doing in terms of honey?

This is my second year of beekeeping in Australia and I still adjusting to local realities.
I got two hives last year, starting from nucs, and in the first year I havenā€™t seen any honey (they happily consumed about 20kg of my sugar though). This year is better. First harvest was on 2nd of November and to date Iā€™ve got 55kg in total form both hives leaving solid reserves to bees. I just wanted to know what amount of honey is a reasonable expectation for stationary hive in suburban area and what others are getting this year?

Thanks in advance.

Last year was a bad yearā€¦

I seem to range between about 25kg to 43kg from a single suburban hive (with a single brood box) each season.

If youā€™ve harvested 55kg so far Iā€™d say youā€™re doing well. Iā€™m at about 16kg so far this season with another 8-10kg almost ready for harvest (I could actually have harvested most of that last weekend I reckon but as it wasnā€™t capped I didnā€™t want to risk flooding in the hive, especially with the hotter weather).

From comments a few years ago I developed the opinion that 25-35kg per suburban hive (single deep brood) per season was a common range.

2 Likes

Thank you for response.
I am rather in favor of slightly larger colonies and I have 2 FD 10 frame brood boxes in each hive but they use 2-3 frames for brood in the second box. The rest is honey. The third box is super from which I collect honey for myself.

I have just had a look at my notes from a talk by John Karasinski from Curtin Uni gave earlier this year. In it he estimated that in WA the average honey production of WA hobbyists is ~20kg per hive per year and commercial 250-300kg per hive per year.

Adam

3 Likes

Thank you, Adam. Numbers for commercial beekeepers are particularly impressive.
If we take an average between the last and this year, I am still considerably below those 20kg. But I hope the season is not over yet :slight_smile:

Last year was particularly harsh.

This year has been good. Iā€™m just finishing harvesting a 4f nuc this afternoon, that I have split twice for a total, to date, of 21kg and the peak flow is not here yet.

as a Humanities graduate I find that comment really offensive. It is also demonstrable paranoid bullshit. Sorry if that offends- but you started this. As to your Panglossian attitude- if only this were the best of all possible worlds I wouldnā€™t have to comment on this threadā€¦

apologies for off topic comments- but some things should not be left unchallenged.

5 Likes

@Semaphore I agree with you there wasnā€™t a lot of fact in that post that you are replying to. The reality is that SW WA (Kalbarri to Esperence) will continue to see a decline in rainfall and streamflow. All of the climate models agree on that, it is just the degree of drying we will see.

We can already see step changes in rainfall and stream flow. To say there will be more rainfall in SW WA is lunacy.

By 2060 todays Geraldtons climate will be Perths and todays Perths climate will be Bunburyā€™sā€¦

http://www.water.wa.gov.au/planning-for-the-future/allocation-plans/managing-water-in-a-changing-climate

5 Likes

Most climate models are turning out to be too conservative (no pun), and change in some areas is happening not just as predicted, but faster.

2 Likes

Yes, I agree. @Numbatino

1 Like

It seems like thereā€™s a bit of a nectar dearth around meā€¦

(Black line is weight. Blue line is temp with the 32kg line equating to 40degC and the 28kg line to 20degC)

3 Likes

Hi mate, Merry Xmas. Strange theyā€™re losing weight as thereā€™s still a surprising amount of eucs in flower, even scattered marri. I know what youā€™ve said about a lack of nectar down your way but theyā€™re still drawing wax and filling up here and a couple of years ago it was the opposite! Impossible to predict.
My brother came up today from down Yangebup way and couldnā€™t believe how hot it was up here, Iā€™d have thought nectar would evaporate with this weather but thatā€™s obviously not the caseā€¦
Need more buckets.

1 Like

Mine also. I was almost ready to harvest before that spate of high 30ā€™s low 40ā€™s hit us. You could just see the honey disappearing. I think just energy expended trying to keep the hive cool and too hot to forage. Last couple of days the hives are about neutral

I see what youā€™re saying however I see it a bit differently, to me, and Iā€™m no bee, itā€™d take less energy to keep the hive cool than warm giving the colony more foragers. I have noticed less bees in the top super during the heat but jam packed in the evening. What Iā€™m seeing may have something to do with the amount of honey in these hives insulating it?

I am just guessing, I really donā€™t know. :upside_down_face: :upside_down_face: I do know the honey when down (no robbing) in the hot weather and has now stabilised and maybe Iā€™ll get a enough in for capping in the next few coolish days. Have a few large SW Blackbutts (E.patens) just started flowering.

According to the scales i was up 470g yesterdayā€¦today Iā€™m down 450gā€¦:man_shrugging:

1 Like

Iā€™m no good to you. I harvested 4f 6 days ago and it seems that they have just finished tidying that up (cappings etc) and have put on 500g today. Prior to that they were about even for the 6 days. I normally expect a dearth from mid Dec to mid Jan, Iā€™m not seeing that this year.

1 Like