Bees entered two of our trap boxes a couple of weeks ago, just a few days apart.  So it was very exciting to move them to the hives at the weekend.  One colony was fairly strong with combs already being built in the trap box.  The bars and bees were simply lifted from the trap … Continue reading Colony Bar Wars!

A strong sweet smell of honey drifted from one of our hives (Patience) and we couldn't wait to inspect and see how the bees had been getting on. They had sure been busy, unfortunately they had built across the bars rather than along them.  This is not uncommon, after all they are wild creatures and … Continue reading Sweet patience

Setting 4 more trap boxes at local homes.  Bring on the bees.

Setting trap boxes Trap box set in a gum tree. Bee swarm entering the trap box.  This will be left for around 2 weeks to allow the bees time to build their brood and combs before transferring to a hive.

Preparing hives By burning leaves and grass inside the new hive it makes for a more natural environment for the bees and loses that new wood smell. Baiting with propolis while the wood is still hot helps the propolis penetrate the wood.  Hopefully attracting more bees, we also added a few drops of lemon grass … Continue reading Hive prep