Hey, just wanted to see how people in Melbourne were going with honey collection. This is my first season with the super on. I have done one split of the hive as they were about to swarm 2 months ago and they have since swarmed as well as the hive was full again. So far they are filling the super very slowly and don’t seem to be capping any of it. I would say there are 4 flow drama that have been built out with wax and started to be filled but it seems to be quite slow. I was expecting to get some honey out of them this season but now I’m not so sure so I wanted to see what everyone else’s experience has been this year.
Gee, if you have split them and they have since swarmed then they are doing well to be working on the super. I would say to give them time, its early days in this season.
Yea I was quite surprised. They were certainly getting ready to swarm when I split them and since then the hive was absolutely chockers again so they swarmed this week. I’m starting to think we might need a second brood box at some point. When we did the spill it they had the 5 new frames built out in less than a week and full of brood the week after. They seem to be a fairly strong hive now.
I noticed the other day a WiFiHivescale user just east of Melbourne has shared their weight data through the WA Apiarists’ Society hive monitoring portal. May be worth a look?
I agree with Rob, it’s early days. None of us should be focused on honey production while the bees are focusing on reproduction during the swarm season.
I focus wholly on swarm prevention during spring, however in doing so I’m still harvesting some honey because every time I do a preemptive swarm control split, I’m leaving the bulk of the honey producers behind.
I’m near Melbourne and in my first season. My bees have suffered from the crap weather with a bit of chalkbrood but the bees are managing it.
The levels of honey in my hive are low, with only a frames worth right now. The good news is that they are moving into the flow frames and building out the cells.
I’m west of Geelong and had to start feeding some of the hives again with all the rain. The bees haven’t been able to get out very much and the trees they rely on have been delayed in their flowering. With that first real spring weather just arriving, the bees are now in full swing. The supers are still a little way off.