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Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #100 on: August 26, 2018, 08:27:42 am »
26. August - the Liquid Amber has just burst into leaves. A sign of Spring here.

We had 25 mm of rain ( 1 inch for the US friends) and this will kick along the Blue Gum for a while. It may just be enough to get the Clover going too - need a bit of follow-up rain.

I use to keep a phenomanel ( the spelling is wrong...) calender - keeping all the Bud Burst dates for the trees around here but lost it. At 70 is it really a priority to start one again?

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #101 on: August 26, 2018, 08:38:32 am »
Phenology!

http://budburst.org/phenology-defined

I think Spring has sprung - at least here!

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #102 on: August 27, 2018, 08:37:26 am »
. At 70 is it really a priority to start one again?
Mate still young.. what are you going to do for the next 25 yrs or so?

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #103 on: September 10, 2018, 06:20:07 pm »
We are taking honey off again. From the best hive we have harvested 24 x 1/2 frames and 24 x Full depth frames of honey so far - and the bees built into the lid as well. And this is still only the first month of Spring.
The Blue Gum keeps flowering but very little Clover to be seen - simply too dry.
The Liquid Amber is buzzing with bees but I'm not sure if they produce nectar or pollen.
I keep making more splits - there are simply not enough hours in a day ...or energy in my legs:)
Got a very small swarm hanging in a shrub - not much bigger then a tennis bal. They have been there for a week and have built some comb. Have not seen this often.

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #104 on: September 15, 2018, 06:18:13 pm »
The Jaboticabas are out this morning.
If you have never seen one flowering have a look at the beginning of this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhhBB1aV3u8&index=1&list=PL3D06C385260B1EA1
The smell is amazing. I assume the bees are just getting pollen.

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #105 on: September 15, 2018, 06:55:51 pm »
You definitely have a different climate up there my Jaboticabas are just starting to bud so will be a week or 2 away from flowering. Is there any nectar from them or is it pollen only? Last year when mine were in flower they were covered in native bees the noise was amazing I don't know where they all came from as we only have one small colony in a post that holds up one corner of a shed,...they must have put the word out!
I see from your video you are running half depth honey supers and double deep brood, is that the configuration you run on all your hives or was it just those ones you were working?
Cheers
Mark

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #106 on: September 15, 2018, 07:36:14 pm »
I'm not sure if Jaboticabas produce nectar. I will have a close look today.
We also are getting native Bees here - they only fly about 500 m from the hive. We are near the Mary with lots of habitat trees.
It is a very old video. Big changes since.
I have two hives with 1/2 depth supers and only single FD brood. One or two hives have no Queen excluder and I harvest the brood for nuc's . Some of my best hives are only singles and only used for brood harvest. I find this the easiest way to make nuc's - no lifting of honey supers required.
Well, nice and warm.
I have done the painting for now and will check on nuc's - see how the queens are going.
The Imbil Bee Expo was great yesterday. What a fantastic way to talk bees all day!

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #107 on: September 15, 2018, 08:55:55 pm »
I wanted to go to Imbil but my partner is not well and loathe to leave her for any length of time, sounds like it was a good day. Did many turn up? Saw pics of morning and it was a bit quiet but I know there was a bus coming up from Vegas.
Converted 3 splits I made going in to winter in to 10 FD yesterday...busting at the seams. Should have been done weeks ago but circumstances have conspired against me. The lids alone had about 6kg of honey in them! Am thinking of going to 8 frames purely from a weight perspective but being a traditionalist am hesitating or maybe it is procrastinating!
Have one hive with a queen that lays a beautiful pattern wall to wall so am using that for nucs.
What do you make your nucs out of?
Cheers
Mark

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #108 on: September 15, 2018, 10:47:53 pm »
I wanted to go to Imbil but my partner is not well and loathe to leave her for any length of time, sounds like it was a good day.
!!!!I hope that her health improves.

 Did many turn up? Saw pics of morning and it was a bit quiet but I know there was a bus coming up from Vegas.

!!!A slow start but very busy from about 10 AM until the draw of the prices.

Converted 3 splits I made going in to winter in to 10 FD yesterday...busting at the seams. Should have been done weeks ago but circumstances have conspired against me. The lids alone had about 6kg of honey in them!

!!!!!We have been taking honey off early last week and some had built into the lids. I use an inner-lid and generally the honey is between the inner- lid and the lid. I leave it for the bees to clean-up.


 Am thinking of going to 8 frames purely from a weight perspective but being a traditionalist am hesitating or maybe it is procrastinating!
!!!!!I don't have much experience with 8 Frame gear. A friend of mine went for 8 frame supers for weight reasons. The issue we found was the 8 framers tend to swarm rather quickly. I guess there is less space. Spoke to a Beek yesterday and he is going back to 10 frame from 8's. A few reasons - basically he felt he was always running out of frames

Have one hive with a queen that lays a beautiful pattern wall to wall so am using that for nucs.
What do you make your nucs out of?

!!!I keep a pretty good record of all hives. I mark the best ones and use them to provide 3 brood frames. I use these 3 frames ( not all capped brood, I like some un-capped as well to keep the generations coming) with two frames with new foundation to make a 5 frame nuc.
The early ones this Spring I let make their own queens. Try NOT to open them for a month and you will find generally eggs, some larvae in them. Occassionally some capped brood.
The absolute "best" ( exeptional pattern, large queen, quiet..) ones I transfer into a 10 framer and split them until Christmas. Some I will keep and some are sold - there is always a demand for instant singles for those who had a FLOW gifted to them - and they want bees.

The other nuc's I sell when the pattern is up to scratch.

I also make nuc's  as per above but buy a mated queen - much quicker. Two weeks and they are just about readdy to sell.
At this point queens are still in rather short supply and I'm only set-up to make Queen Cells - and I use them.

At the moment I'm making some nuc's pretty well every week. Not too many as I have a space issue.

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #109 on: September 16, 2018, 12:06:15 am »
Thanks Max
Nice detail. What do you make the boxes out of? Seems hard to get suitable pine at a reasonable price up here. I see there is a crowd in Melbourne that sells it but can't find it up here.

Update on Jaboticabas... My partner informed me that I really should wear my glasses the so called buds are not flower buds but Fruit ...doh! With everything that has been going on I have missed the flowering as the tress are not in an area I go to all the time.

Yes I resist the urge to have a look at new nucs till a month is up to see if they  have successfully raised a queen and she is laying.

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #110 on: September 26, 2018, 06:02:05 pm »
The Clover is out and the bees are working it. We had very little rain here in recent times but some paddocks are irrigated and you can see the difference some water makes. With some rain, maybe a storm, the valley will flower with White Clover. It is not too late.

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #111 on: September 28, 2018, 03:30:15 am »
We took more honey off today. The Clover is definitely coming in as the honey is not as dark as last time. Storms and small rain cells all around us yesterday and today but not a drop of rain so far.
Some hives got stirred up by something - maybe they know more about the weather then we do.
Good time to make more splits while the honey supers are light.

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #112 on: September 30, 2018, 02:56:08 am »
30. September - White Cedar is flowering. Not sure if Honey Bees work it or not?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melia_azedarach

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #113 on: September 30, 2018, 06:42:28 am »
Not so much flowering but today we had 56mm all of it between 0700 and about 0930. Was chucking it down with a decent light show to go with it.

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #114 on: September 30, 2018, 07:39:20 am »
Lucky you - we had all of 15 mm

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #115 on: October 04, 2018, 12:10:42 am »
4. October - How could I miss this! The Silky Oaks are out. I never know if the bees go for pollen or nectar or both?

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #116 on: October 05, 2018, 05:25:15 pm »
A bloke sent me a photo of Wild Mustard flowering near Kenilworth - SE Qld. He tells me the bees are all over it.

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #117 on: October 07, 2018, 05:58:57 pm »
7. October - Clover is doing well here. Also the native Wisteria is in full bloom and the bees love it. Native Wisteria  is growing here in patches - not enough to make a difference to the bees but what a lovely vine.

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #118 on: October 08, 2018, 01:33:51 am »
8. 10.18 - Tecoma stens is flowering on steep slopes. It is considered a weed here - rather attractive and the bees seem to like it https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0005772X.2016.1156283?journalCode=tbee20

Offline PRYORDARNELL

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #119 on: October 08, 2018, 10:19:18 pm »
Grey gums blooming north of toowoomba.

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