... raining, again. Doncha jes luuuurve the Tropix!
"Fairy Pee" this time around - 10mm in 24hours (aka) "winter rain" in
our 'winter' as it drops to 19C nights and 22C days, miserable weather.
Buuut tamorra the Sun will be back..!
So.
"To show I am not a complete idiot I will add,
1. for a new guy,
2. an experienced guy,
3. for a reasobaly good year where it all comes together, minimal
pests and you get onto good spots, are in a good place mentally,
the wife is happy, piles aren't playing up, footy teams are winning etc."
First up allow the good grace to acknowledge(moi) those mitigating factors
shaping your seed of an idea as being the unwanted baggage they no
doubt are - "rellies" and business rarely mix well, partnerships have even
a worse record with the exception where copulation is a bond.
You have my sincere empathy "sixtus".
And a caveat to wrap All my input?
We are Polllinators, not "honeybadgers" - with that comes differing
management styles to honey producers, and so should form part of
the consideration when taking on board advice.
That said, there is not a lot of difference in running bees in the Tropix to
anywhere else bees would survive unattended, it is simply the case the
windows are much larger in the Tropix.
As just one example(?) our Wet season closely mimics that of Northern
hemisphere winters in terms of preparation, yet the Wet goes far beyond
those winters in terms of dearth. So whilst our honey stores can be far
greater it is true every skerrick of it is sometimes needed, as has been
proven in 2018/19 where nearly six months after the November bushfires
we still struggle today to rebuild numbers to values around August 2018.
In short, for the "new guy"... put management before expectations or risk
magnormus disappointment.
The "experienced guy" knows to go with the flow, literally, yet manage
efficiently to gather in that bare minimum of around 40kg per stack
(national statistic).
In a "reasonable year" for a static apiary near orchard/cropping 60 to 80kg
is easily doable whereas an apiary in a "one flow wonder" may iust return 20kg.
Then... to answer your question on migratory (?) we have examples as the
attached graphic - where this operator was heard on ABC radio boasting
100kg/wk from 2X stacks moving through orchards on the Tablelands -
he is running a FD super on single fulldepth (FD) broodchambers (BC) in poly boxes.
Sooo... not totally 'new' to it.
Myself not all impressed with his style, buut good luck to him as these newer
players are a dime a dozen these days.
As generic guide to startup?
From those sites you indicate, pick one that is within reasonable driving distance
at night and in the Wet. Set your build box(s) there and expand to
that point your management reaches compromise, then delete 5% by numbers of
stacks/colonys.
This will take at least three seasons to get to say 20 fully functional stacks.
Before doing anything more at all get onto the QLD biosecurity site to educate
yourself to at least my level on aspects as SHB/Wax Moth/American Foul Brood (AFB)
/Chalkbrood(CB), and Apis.Cerana (Asian Honeybee).
You _must_ be able to hold an informed discussion on these topics.
Follow links you find and ask what you are not absolutely full bottle on.
SHB itself exists throughout most sites close by urbanisation all over the east coast.
Like CB the single most efficient barrier to these is the bees themselves, so it is simply
a matter of maintaining numbers at all times inclusive of when building new colonys
from strong parents, during swarm seasons, post honey extraction, and in the Wet.
The latter most important of all.
Box (stack) design helps but without strong numbers even a single beetle is capable
of producing enough larvae to overwhelm a colony given the perfect conditions for such.
Stay on them, take no prisioners.. that means at least fortnightly inspections of at least
"popping the top".
Long yet succinct, believe... I trust it all goes someway in forming your thoughts around
getting fair dinkum.
Like yourself my "handle" is also of Italian origins, just not at all emerging from the
Black Hand mob so steeped in that history of FNQ. 'Eltalia" being a play on words for
Apis Meliferra Linguistica - Golden Italian honeybee, or in example of my use, The Eyetie...
..despite the Fact my DNA is of Irish and Indigenous stock. Complex, huh?
/grins/
Go well, and mind how you go.
Bill
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