Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: max2 on August 31, 2022, 07:01:14 pm
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Greetings Beekeepers.
Welcome to Spring in Australia 1. September 2022
You will notice a new heading " News from Down Under" which has been approved, indeed supported by our moderators.
While I will try to cover some Bee News from Australia, I will mainly focus on bee related activities from Queensland - the state in Australia where I live and keep bees.
I will continue to submit news to the " Varroa" heading and the " What's flowering in Qld" heading.
I have kept bees for about 46 years.
We are small beekeepers who love our bees and most of the activities associated with bees.
I'm no expert!
This heading will only be interesting if many other beekeepers from Australia ( and indeed Overseas) are contributing.
A new start with Spring!!
With my best wishes
max
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Hey that is great Max. I will be looking forward to the post.
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A rainy day...
Bees were superbusy yesterday and you can feel Spring is in the air.
September is an important month for us here in the Sub tropics.
I have been busy putting foundation into frames.For each nuc I sell I need 5 frames.
I have plenty of nuc boxes ready. And SHB traps too.
I put a drop or three of Lemon Grass Oil into each box. The bees seem to like it. More is not better.
If you have not done your brood check - now is the tiem.
As I went through the brood I also marked the queens - Yellow is the colour for this year.
I number each nuc so that I can keep track of them easily.
I looks like I will be making queens this year in numbers - they are very difficult to find right now. At this point ( due to varroa in the South) queen breeders are not permited to mail queens to us here in Qld. This may change in the future. It has definitely increased the cost/queen and reduced availability of Qld breed queens.
Back to the beehouse getting frames and boxes ready.
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I had a long day with the bees. perfect weather.
The honey is late coming in - still only a touch.
The bees are genrally very busy, lots of brood at all stages and loads of bees.
Still getting all this condensation - too much rain, too much fog?
SHB - a few hives have huge numbers but seem to deal with them...other hives NIL. A lot of the beetles seem to be keept under the wings of the traps.
definitely Caucasina bees are producing a lot more propolis and the bees keeping the beetles trapped. I have been pushing Italian genetics for a long time but the caucasian genetics is persisting.
I found one hive with a few replacement queen cells - pretty sure they are not swarms cells.
I made a split just to see if it works.
There is a lot of White Clover flowering but not many bees working it. I know Clover can be fussy.
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You never stop learning.
We took some honey off today. Not much, enough to have something to sell at the markets.
I took some honey off the hive with absolutely huge population of SHB. I must have killed 100 yesterday and a similar number today. The traps are working but had filled up.
One observation - this hive is in a lot of shade. The tree will go - sadly it is a Olive but I'm not going to move the hive.
People often ask me how long a super lasts or a frame.
Well, it depends. I used to put a date on all frames and I have some frames with 1978 on them - 44 years old and still in service. I have frames which were hand made with a knife ( not by me!) and the are still in supers.
I have supers which the old metal hangers.
I haven't used them for a long time.
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Nice touch:
Royal Beekeeper tells Her Majesty?s bees of her death.
An old tradition
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Nice touch:
Royal Beekeeper tells Her Majesty?s bees of her death.
An old tradition
Oh that's wonderful. We have the same tradition here in the US, although very few people practice it anymore. Here's the news story if anyone would like to read it.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11199259/Royal-beekeeper-informed-Queens-bees-HM-died-King-Charles-new-boss.html
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I went to visit a beekeeping mate of mine.
He has been in bees for 30 or so years.
He tells me that this is the first year that he is not getting honey of macademias.
Indeed - no honey so far at all.
We were pondering....still too cool? or are the trees putting all this moisture into growth?
It is warming up next weekend...here is hoping.
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We took a bit more honey off today - just so we have enough to sell at the Witta market.
I learned another lesson.
In the past i used to take the honey out of lids. No more.
I leave it for the bees to clean up during winter.
By Spring - now, the honey is all gone and all that is left are old comb.
These are obviously heaven for SHB and it is time to clean them up.
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Good idea Max. Never thought of doing that. Checked a couple of hives yesterday. The bees are going gang busters after a winter flow. I gave myself some extra time by removing queen excluders after the final extraction in August. Those frames are now filling with brood and honey. It?s going to be a big swarm season in my region due to the spotted gum bloom.
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I stuffed up big time.
When I make up nuc's I place 3 frames with mixed brood in a 5 frame wooden nuc box and add a frame of honey if i feel they are a bit short on honey.
I move this box to another yard - fieldbees and all.
Generally they make their own queen. Generally they don't need feeding.
This time I used boxes with a conventional slot entrance and I had nothing with me to close them off.
So, big mistake, I left them in the yard with the mother hives.
Of course most of the fieldbees wil go "home" to the mother hive.
Without field bees the some of the nuc's run out of food and I will loose a couple.
I did feed them but was probably a day too late.
I made up more nuc's today....and, yes, i shifted them. I also gave them a frame with honey...just in case.
Due to age related issues most of my hives i take brood frames from only have a 1/2 super on top. I'm still able to lift those with honey - no chance anymore with the FD supers.
The disadvamtage is that I can't borrow honey frames from the honey supper/
Never stop learning in this game.
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That is why I split hives instead of making nucs. You will end up with a strong nuc and a weakened parent hive. Dependent on how big the parent hive was you can split again in a few weeks. This will yield 3 strong nucs from one strong hive. It is a slower expansion but easier to do for back yard beeks. I always did this in the spring because that is when resources are plentiful.
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Brian,
can you please expand on your explanation, please.
I move my nuc's ( up to 7 at a time) from yard to yard in a very small car.
I use round disc closures which work well for me and keep the bees inside the 5 frame nuc..
The big advantage for me is weight - I'm not 60 anymore and lifting is getting a big issue for me.
I mostly work on my own out of choice as i like the solitude of bees and me - I'm partially deaf and communication with others is not easy anymore.
Getting old is not for the fainthhearted
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If you split hives in half you don't need to move them. Young bees stay in the split and most of the old bees go back to the parent. A large split insures that it doesn't go weak. In the parent hive the queen is pumping out eggs so recovery is fast during a flow.
I am nearing 70 with a damaged back. Nearly every day is pain but moving to sunny FL has done the back good. Doing something is far better then not doing something.
Don't hesitate, go to smaller equipment either by trading or cutting it down. You will lose some yield but smaller hives will be easier to manage. Splitting (in half) naturally curbs swarming. Good luck and keep trying.
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P picked up some gear I had irradiated.
I was able to add some hive gear to the pallet loads of a beekeeping friend.
These were mainly dead outs - not necessarily diseased gear - just playing it safe.
The gear had been away for a long time. Wax Moth got into frames and it is a messy job cleaning it up.
Definitely ( at the back yard level) only worth doing for near new gear.
It is a huge job!
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Just checked the hives in the home yard.
There is some honey to take - soon.
I have never seen so many SHB.
I use the common Bettleblaster traps with DE and they work for me.
They work so well that some are full to near the top. At this point the DE is no effective anymore and i have changed some of the traps.
More rain is on the way and i hope take some honey off after.
Check your hives for SHB!!
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I checked some of my nuc's today - the rain is still holding off.
Very mixed results.
I start off with 3 frames from the mother hive and select frames with eggs and very young larvae so that they have every opportunity to make queens.
Often I find multiple queen cells at day 10 to 12.
This time I have some nuc's which have not made ANY queen cells and i have to give them another frame in the hope that they will successd the second time.
All very unusual.
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This is a busy time for Beekeeprs here in Qld.
Most of us are taking some honey off, nuc's/splits need attention, queen breeding needs a regular watch and then there are markets.
The weather has been very difficult to predict. More rain than usual and the weather has been quite cool too.
Due to the moist soil conditions SHB have been more active then we have experienced for a long while.
We have been pulling out old frames and replacing them with new foundation while the flow is on and bees can draw foundation.
Still a good time to make nuc's/splits but be aware of the SHB issue. i usually stop making nuc's by Christmas as this is the time when SHB numbers realy start to take off.
This year, if the weather warms, SHB will be a big issue.
Christmas markets will be coming up soon - time to get some specials ready.
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I took some more honey off the hives I use to make nuc's. These ar FD brood boxes with a Queen excluder and a 1/2 super on top. Easy for me to lift. I made a batch of nuc's during the week and the 1/2 suppers were heavy with honey.
I took honey off hives were I harvested a matter of 9 days ago.
We are not sure what the flow is. maybe a mix but the honey looks and tastes very much like Clover.
The Blue Gumm has been good this year.
We are still hoping for some BrushBox - lovely honey but the frames have to be fully capped or the honey can ferment.
Also, closer to Christmas , we could get some Bloodwood honey.
Bloodwood honey has a magnificent colour and is very stringy.
It never is boring.
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It has been a busy week in the beeyard this week.
I have taken honey off on 6 mornings.
I had not help and I don't take too much on as I like to get the honey into a jar as quickly s possible...and then there is the cleaning up.
I ran out of labels and have honey stacked up all over the place. A bit messy.
Being Christmas I probably can't get the labels until the printer is back around the 10. January.
The cost has gone up on everything. Labels are up quite a lot and i had to get lids for my jars - 30cents each! They used to be 6 cents.
I guess i will have to put up my prices too.
I have been busy with the Comb Honey too.
It is our Christmas market tomorrow - a big one for our rural area - about 60 to 70 stalls.
It will be good to get a bit of cashflow.
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A cold front has moved up the coast as far as N Qld.
Bees are still bringing in pollen and nectar but the mainflowering has passed.
The next few months are expected to be warmer than average and dryer than average.
Soil moisture in most parts of Qld are below average.
All part climate change - get used to it.
Parts of Qld have experienced the hottest April on record.
Tiem to do your Autumn check if you have not done so already.
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We have been travelling to NSW ( as far as Yamba) and back taking the inland roads.
We spoke to many beekeepers and visited 5 markets and had a talk to honey sellers.
The feedback variied from" excellent season" to " very little honey around".
Most felt quite positive that the varroa issue can be controlled.
Demand for honey seems to have been slow and prices low. Lower then what we are getting for honey here. One packer refused to take dark honey or paid very low prices.
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Most felt quite positive that the varroa issue can be controlled.
What is your 'feeling' about this Max?
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We are just passing mid winter here.
It has been a very mild winter so far and the next week looks mild too.
Two of my friends tell me that they took honey off recently - WINTER!!
There are still drone cells to be seen and the bees are very active.
My concern is that we will have a very narrow window to take winter honey off...before the queen will need space, or we will have a horrible swarms season come spring.
Plenty of time for things to chage.
We shall see.
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Interesting Max...
Phillip
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Not really news, but it is from DownUnder!
https://youtube.com/shorts/-C_fRv2zuDc?feature=share
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A friend called in - he just checked his hives to find they are full of honey.
Still Jully. Still winter.
What is going on - to take honey off or not, that is the question
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I checked a couple of hives today and they are full of capped honey - there is work ahead.
This is still winter here. far to warm. Talk about " Climate change" . Hottest July on record, indeed i believe the hottest montn ever on this planet.
Poor bees had no break at all.
If Varroa is here to stay we have to find our own way to deal with it. Cold climates do get a brood break - no such luck here.
The SHB are not having a break either.
This will be an interesting Spring.
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I went to one of my yards, the Conondale yard to get a Spring check done and clean the tops of the frames, ready to maybe take some honey off soon.
As expected I lost a couple of hives. It is not AFB, I would smell this but they probably lost the queen during winter and could not make a replacement.
I will deal with all the equipment as if it was a disease - sterilise as required.
Fewer SHB then expected. Definitely a positive. The traps were pretty full of beetles and I replaced most with new ones.
A lot more propoliis than in other years.
No moisture inside the hives as I had last year. Very much a positive as the moisture is not doing the timber frames any good.
No varroa. This would have been a rude shock. I will keep the container ready to do sugar shakes.
Most honey suppers are full capped with honey to take. There is work ahead.
There is plenty of lovely brood at all stages and the first of the Drones - the time to make splits is not far off.
It has been , so far , a very mild winter. Very dry and very warm. They tell us that July was the warmest July on record.I can remember 20 years ago having to break the ice on the shep's water trough and the frost used to burn off all the Lantana along the Mary River - no more.
I came home, and while I'm deaf as, I could hear a swarm taking off. I got most of the bees into a 10 frame super- we shall see soon if they like their new home or not.
The first swarms for the season. 10. August - the last winter month!
Make sure you got your gear ready - supers painted, frames wired and with foundation
The new season has started.
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I have been busy getting all the gear ready for a busy season.
I also assemble gear for others and while I had some in stock , I need to make up more frames, paint more boxes.
I helped the daughters of a beekeeping friend who sadly died in May with their first extraction.
The equipment was very basic but we took off about 25kg of winter honey.
Lovely to see young , female beekeepers taking on the hobby.
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I have been making more splits this morning and with 36C predicted I decided to work in the beehouse and catch up on emails - way behind.
We took more honey off this week. I'm storing it now in 10l buckets whcih I stil can lift.
While making splits and lifting off 1/2 supers, again full of honey, and struggling with the weight, it crossed my mind how I would ever be able to lift full depth , 10 frame supers with honey to check on Varroa?
I have been writing to a long list of people I had hoped could give some advice regarding dealing with Varroa in or subtropical environment. Nil response so far from Government sources but i got a quick response from the manufacturers of APIGUARD.
It appears that their product ( I hope i got this right) can be used with honet supers on and with brood - the conditions we have to deal with here.
I gather that a pallet load of the product will soon arrive in Australia.
The limitation is the temperature as we could only use the product as long as the days are under 30C.
How many beekeepers will get out?
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We are taking more honey off. My son is here for a few days and it is an opportunity not to work alone - bliss!
We got the 8 frame extractor going again - the timer was stuffed. It does make work so much easier - 8 FD frames or 16 x 1/2 makes the honey flow!
Thse are the same hives we took honey off just under a month ago and some are the hives i took splits from.
The farmer where i got some of my hives stopped to have a chat and he tells me that he is irrigating ( it has been very dry here) about 70acres of Clover which is in full bloom and the bees are working it. We can tell by the honey we are taking off.
The mornings are still cool - a good opportunity to work in the garden.
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Clover is my favorite!! Good for you Max!
Phillip
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I am not a honey connoisseur yet but what kind of differences are seen between the origins of the pollen?
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Just finished taking some honey off at my Conondale yard.
I took full supers from there on the 25. September.
This is a yard I generally use to make splits. The demand for Nuc's has dropped to very few ( more than 100 a few years ago) and i take honey off hives i used to make up to 5 splits from.
The yard is facing a national park and is virtaully next door to 70 acres of irrigated White Clover and is surrounded by cattle country.
I can't recall the last time i had virtually pure clover honey. Absolutely lovely.
More to go.
Looks like I have truck coming tomorrow to take about 1/2 tonne of honey away.
I need a bit of space.
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Yes, more honey.
I picked up another 25 x 10l buckets with lids from the dairy place. They are good value but need cleaning and rinsing and airing and then they are as good as new.
I can do a de-tour on the way from Donating plasma. Nice drive..a very steep road down the Obi Obi( Googkle it)
It is dry everywhere.
No stroms. How we miss them.How the cattle miss them.
I glad 536 kg load is gone. It made some space which I plan to fill.
The local Super market has invited us to have a taste morning.
I wish i had some nice displays. Not very good at this sort of stuff.
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So dry here but the bees keep on giving.
Amazing little creatures.
The smell of honey is in the air.
My son visited and we took more honey off.
Fewer SHB with the dry soil - there is always a " silver lining" if you look for it.
Market in the morning - more beework Sunday
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Sometimes the bees make more honey during a dry spell as the plants haven't given up making nectar and the nectar is drier (richer). Of course it doesn't continue if the dry spell lasts too long.
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A dull day here - no firld work .
Time to catch up on emails, making up frames and getting readdy for the next round of the honey harvest.
We had been told " 10 to 20mm of rain" but no such luck.
The Clover would bounce back with a bit of moisture.
I check on hives I took honey of just over 14 days ago and they are ready for the next harvest.
Time to get ready for the Christmas markets which are no far off. A crazy time.
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I probably should be making up frames or melting wax...
We have been taking honey off ot making splits or bottling or going to markets withoutn a break.
It has been a good season so far.
very dry conditions have slowed the flow.
I'm lucky as one of my yards is next door to an acreage of irrigated Clover and those bees have not had a break.
The waterhousia has been out and the bees love it.
If we get some good rai, say a couple of inches, the Clover may come back and, with a lot of luck the BrushBox could gives us some nectar too.
It is a interesting game, this beekeeping, never dull.
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There is a " Heatwave warning" out and I pulled back into my cool office space - beeing rammed earth i never have to artificially cool it or heat it. A good space to spend the midday hours. As we are a little inland and in a slightly elevated valley we benefitting from a cool breeze in the late afternoons and the nights are generally very comfortable.
I have done another round of honey harvest - it does take me about 7 to 8 days at the moment from start to finish.
The honey from this batch is mostly bottled already - ready for the Christmas market.
SHB have not been an issue so far.
It is too hot and too dry- We had some rain but the benefit has long gone.
I could make up frames, paint boxes but can't be bothered.
All the nuc's have been committed. I should have made more but pre-orders have not been encouraging.
Honey sales overall have been quite good but one shop has dropped off considerably.
To get another flow we need rain....
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Still very hot here.
We pulled approx 110 kg this morning - hot work with the temp just a touch under 30C in the beehouse.
Honey measured at just under 18 - I'm happy with that.
They say that we will be getting cooler weather with some good rain.
Up north some areas received over 2 meters ( TWO metres) ina couple of days.
We don't want that!
I have been seeding pastures in the last few days. More to go today and the next few days. You have to make hay while the rain is coming...
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My beework for this year is coming to an end.
My son is up for a few days and we have been working on a warmer box - a decent sized one for a few hrs.
I would like store maybe 100kg of honey in the box without it EVER crystalizing.
It has been a good year beewise. Plenty of honey and a nice number of nuc's and swarms
I have to review how I will go about things bees for the next year.
There will be varroa to deal with and nobody has a clue how to work with this pest in our type of environment.
Packing up is one option.
Honey sales have been OK. There is no fortune to be made.
Very small beekeepers with just a few hives but plenty of honey this year are undercutting prices. I would not be surprised if they run out of honey by winter...
I feel like i have the genetics right with lovely bees to work and hives which are productive.
We shall see what 2024 brings
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About this warming box.
I can't find any information which tells me the ideal temperature to store honey?
Above 35C " it affects the good stuff". at room temperature it will crystalize.
I'm well aware that many other factors play their part too.
I would like to know the best temp to store the honey without affecting quality but warm enough that it does not crystalize???
This is the temperature i will set the warming box at...
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Max, for what it's worth I store my honey in buckets and let it crystallise. No other option as too many buckets for a warming cabinet, I'd need a warming room!. For selling, it's then remelted overnight at 50C, jarred and stored at 29C in a warming cabinet. Non has ever set whilst being held at that temperature. Mind it's rarely in there for than a couple of weeks. In our UK summer I just turn the cabinet off.
My soft set honey is different as it can separate out if kept too warm, so is stored at 4C in a large fridge.
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Hi Nigel,
50C seems too hot .
I will try 29 C - my son and i have been playing around with a warming box and I will give it a good run before the winter comes.
Interesting to read the literature on honey and temperature. A lot of mixed opinion.
Surely, anything below the temperature in the hive is OK.
But then...I had honey crystalize in my hives.
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One of the storms resulted in a large part of a Leoprad tree falling on top of 5 nuc's - all the fun.
The bees did not like it at all.
I got up early to make a start at 430 AM but could not start my chainsaw.
Son no one came to help with his pruner and plenty of muscle.
We got all the branches claer. Could have been worse.
I had to rebuild the stands but the bees seem to have settled back OK
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There seems to be an end to this heatwave...in a few days.
The heat has driven me inside. Even making up frames is sweaty work.
I have a few more nuc's ready to go.
They have to picked up on a cool evening as I can't get the bees in - they are all bearding.
here is hoping!
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Extreme weather coming i this direction.
The river is just about at the point of flooding.
In 2022 we lost all our river fences - I hope that this time luck will be with us.
Further South people have lost hives in the last week due to flooding - I understand that some financial help is available.
All our hives are on high ground.
The Silver lining?
Well, this rain will put much needed moisture into the subsoil...the type of conditions the Euc's need and like.
Our next door dairy will be happy too as he has a flood harvesting licence. The grass will grow and he can feed his 400 cows again without buying loads of expensive hay.
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Here's Hoping you get all of the good and none of the bad from your storms. I'm on high ground here but used to live right on the edge of the flood plain and it can be unnerving.
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Another farmer /Apiarist gone - Peter Wise RIP
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-01-25/peter-wise-dies-maroochydore-pioneer-farmer-sunshine-coast/103388198
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Another farmer /Apiarist gone - Peter Wise RIP
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-01-25/peter-wise-dies-maroochydore-pioneer-farmer-sunshine-coast/103388198
RIP, Peter Wise. That's a nice story.
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The rain does not stop.
We had very steady rain and it is raining now and more is on the way.
I wanted to pick up some woodenware but the bridge goes under - too risky.
Frustrating!
The rain is quite widespread and to all my beekeeping friends i say:
- stay dry
- give the bees a day of good weather before you are opening hives
- check for SHB - these are perfect conditions.
- make sure the hives are tilted to the front so any water can drain out.
Some areas got strong wind - check that hives have not been shifted or hit by falling trees.
A good time to make plans for the rest of the year.
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I hope you are all staying safe and dry:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/qld-weather-flooding-storms-live-blog-rain/103404738
...and more is on the way
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We had a couple of relatively sunny days. Sunny but hot and humid.
I could smell some honey coming in.
We did a good clean up of one of the yards and it is looking great. We will be planting a few trees to eventually give the hives some afternoon shade.
I had reports of hive losses to SHB. Not a surprise as the conditions are ideal for them at the moment.
Honey prices are under pressure here.
This was on the ABC news today:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-02-04/australian-honey-bee-council-concerns-imported-honey/103419318
I visited one of my bee mates with about 500 hives and he was offered $ 4.30/kg.
This would not give him a decent income for the year.
He has to run two vehicles and employs a bloke part time.
Farming is generally a mugs game.
When Varroa hits us here i can see mnay of the bigger beekeepers focussing on taking hives to the increasing areas under Almonds. Honey is not the game.
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The rain continous with short, sunny breaks.
What amazes me is that I can smell honey after a couple of hrs of sunshine.
Of course I can't open a hive in this weather and I would love to take some honey off - one last harvest.
The weather does not only affect normal bee work but our main market maybe cancelled as access is to challenging.
We have to travel across two bridges and a low area and the water was a metre about the bridge deck.
The water level drops fast but debris has to be removed .
Feb is our last summer month and by mid March you can smell Autumn - looking forward to a change
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There is a Cyclone dumping massive amounts of rain up North,
Storms and bush Fires in Vic, 43C in the West..I emptied 155mm from my rain gauge.
It is difficult to farm like this, impossible to keep garden and not much fun to keep bees.
I take a break!
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There is a Cyclone dumping massive amounts of rain up North,
Storms and bush Fires in Vic, 43C in the West..I emptied 155mm from my rain gauge.
It is difficult to farm like this, impossible to keep garden and not much fun to keep bees.
I take a break!
Take a break, have a Fosters and watch the roos for a bit.
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It has been a trying couple of months here related to beekeeping.
Since the start of the year it has been extremely hot ( the second hottest year on record) and humid and then rain came , and came...and it still has not stopped.
We had some flooding rain but of late it has been just steady, light rain.
Enough to stop you from getting out and about.
There is no chance to open any hives.
It will be interesting to see how the hives stand up to constant moisture. A real test on the paints we use.
The Varroa mites in NSW are spreading slowly.
A new intrusion just 120km from here has been discovered.
I read that just one mite has been found in an Asian swarm at the Brisbane wharf.
Broula Flies have been found in Northern NSW https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=broula+fly.
These will be of little consequence to the average beekeeper but a real pain to those of us who sell comb honey.
The SHB would have a field day in this warm/humid/wet weather.
I have lost a couple of hives.
One was a slimeout, two, well they are a mystery. There is no smell ( not AFB), a few queen cells ( maybe they lost a queen and the new queen could not mate due to the weather)
You never stop learning with bees!
I'm cleaning up the frames and will have the gear ( frames and supers) heat treated. Just in case.
I will be able to use them all in Spring.
Honey sales have been good and getting better towards the cooler time of the year.
Some sellers have increased their prices but there are a number of beekeepers willing to undercut market prices.
I have been made aware that the use of Fipronil ( against SHB) is quite common - illegal and a risk to consumers and the bees.
There are plenty of hives for sale.
It appears that a lot of beekeepers are taking the opportunity to get out before varroa hits them.
I have plenty of stock and have been selling some honey in bulk. Good for the cash flow.
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The rain is back!
I have been able to harvest some Pecan Nuts but it is sad to see 100's kg's on the wet ground. What the birds and rats are not getting, the mould will affect and they are not worth harvesting.
A short brake in the weather is not enough.
I need a good, sunny day for the ground to dry .
This is the time to make a dollar.
Frustrating times.
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In 46 yeasr of beekeeping i feed bees just one winter.
I make sure that i leave plenty of honey to see the girls through winter.
This is a short article on feeding ( from the US)
https://www.beeculture.com/off-the-wahl-beekeeping-8/
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I wrote somewhere about keeping honey liquid.
I just came across an article by Prof Collison which is able to give a fuller and more accurate picture he says: " Honey crystallization is most rapid at temperatures between 10 to 15 C.
At temperatures below 10C the crystallization process is slowed down."
This does not necessarily match my experience but I trust his more scientific data.
He goes on" Honey resists crystallization best at a higher temperatures more than 25C"
I think the key word here is " resists" .
With raw honey, honey which has not been micro filtered we would always have plenty of seed crystals to aid the process.
(Hamden 2010) mentions that at 40 C the crystals dissolve.
As we all know, honey quality would deteriorate above this temperature.
The process of crystallization by heating to 40C is well known and documented.
People have been experimenting with ultrasound treatment of honey to decrystallize as this would affect the rheological properties of honey.
few of us would have a set up to use such a method.
I think I stick to heating to not more then 40C
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Another few rainy days.
Well, it is Sunday, a day of rest :rolleyes:
We had a great market yesterday and a chace to catch up with a number of beekeepers.
A number report that they have supers full of honey and we don't know what is flowering?
Our valley is blessed with a lot of forest and tall trees. At times it is very difficult to see what is actually flowering.