Gimli

I never once tried to pass off the seed I purchased as my own, all I did was share around some of what I had. I also don't remember criticizing, just making it public knowledge as it's still a hot topic. There are a lot of people who don't condone wild harvesting of species which are vulnerable/endangered It wasn't until after I received my seeds that I actually asked what the source of the seeds actually was. I admit that should have been my first port of call Seeya commy

This and the Phlebophylla seed they stocked was wild harvested, just in case you didn't know

Setting up 2 more hives. Bitten off more than I could chew. The backyard smells of honey all the time now Trying out these sectional frames. The purpose is to get the bees to build honeycomb in each individual square which can be given as a present. Love to be able to share some of these with friends Checked the flow frames a few days ago and the bees are working hard filling the gaps in the frames and bringing in nectar. Looking forward to my first harvest Any members here have a flow hive/super? What are your thoughts/comments/criticisms about them?

I have some cuttings (mids) but you'll need to collect today

I get stuff often from Nindethana I've used Australian Seed also, good service ANPSA have a good list on their website from memory

Duboisia hopwoodii fruit. Have 3 of similar size. Fingers crossed Duboisia myoporoides. The seed was gifted to me generously from a SAB member earlier this year and was passed onto a local bloke with a good technique for germinating Duboisia spp. He worked his magic and this is the result

It's finished. Most people (including myself) had left by 10.45 Thanks to the 20 or so people who came down. Most people brought stuff to share which is awesome! Perhaps the next one we have a small BBQ somewhere central and make a full morning of it. Thoughts?

I've added a bit of 'Rod' and 'OSP' to giveaway and removed a crest which was quite literally devoured by slugs/snails 5 bags of Echinocactus grusonii seed too, free If anyone wants a bit of Acacia acuminata heartwood, feel free to grab it

Someone who's not in their right mind Don't encourage him

New queen from the hive split I did 5/9. Already laying a solid pattern of brood

Here is the link @Enjaytee " In WA, Stingless Bees are only found from the Hamersley Ranges northwards. Local WA authorities strongly oppose the introduction of Stingless Bees to more southern areas as they may disturb the delicate ecology of the state’s beautiful wildflowers " https://www.aussiebee.com.au/beesinyourarea.html

More burr comb. Uncapped so still technically nectar. Incredibly sweet, more so than honey. Got around 60g of wax out of it

Unripe Sandalwood and Quandong fruits, respectively

Went up to the plantation. Flowers on the Acacia acuminata are just starting, will be a sea of yellow in a few weeks. This years seed giveaway will kickoff in about 3 weeks in the swaps section

One of 3 Acacia obtusifolia I have growing, courtesy of @Glaukus, legend! Duboisia hopwoodii, from a local fella. No fruits have set, likely not the right type of pollinators around these parts and/or not self-fertile. Tried pollinating with a paint brush but also no joy. For now I'll let it grow and harvest it in the future to make quids. Ps I need to weed the garden, no need to remind me

Spotted a drone atop my 'Cliff' Drones are male bees whose only role is to mate with an unfertilized queen. They have bigger eyes which meet in the middle, are larger than worker bees and do not have a stinger

One of the new colonies was split, leaving one half to rear a new queen Split was done 5/9/19 9/9/19 - a emergency cell is built around an egg 12/9/19 - queen cell is capped off 20/9/19 - queen has emerged and begun to kill all the other queens so she is the one and only In a few days she will take her nuptial flight to mate with multiple drones before beginning her laying life

This was the inside of one new colony. Burr comb that was full of gold. Removed it and gave it to one of the guys at work. Tasty work removing it!

New colonies delivered. Absolutely overflowing with bees, ready to be split or chuck a honey super on I split one and put a super on the other

Recently picked up a Flow Hive. One of the original models. The box and roof have been painted but it was never used (frames are brand new, made in Australia!). Been wanting to play with one of these for a while so pulled the trigger. Such a great design (by Australian father-son Stuart and Cedar Anderson) People say that the plastic is bad for the quality of the bees and the honey but most commercial beekeepers use plastic foundation a 200g block of beeswax from old frames and burr comb. Some of this will be used to wax the flow frames, to help the bees take to the frames a bit quicker

As we rolled into spring, some new woodware was purchased for the purpose of expanding the original hive and housing 2 new colonies Setting up 2 new hives. They are level side to side but lengthways the entrance is lower. This is to help any moisture which builds up just trickle out the front. It also helps the bees clean up a little easier

When the brood box was setup, frames with only wire were used. Bees in a brood box generally do a worse job of drawing comb than the bees upstairs in honey super(s) but this was quite bad, consisting of messy crosscomb in all directions These were the worst 3 and they plus a fourth were straight up removed and 4 new frames placed The queen now has 8 nice, solid frames on which to lay

As some of you may know, I got into beekeeping a little over a year ago and I have learnt much in that time. Making this thread for anyone interested in seeing inside a hive I started with a swarm (below) which I caught with the help of an acquaintance. The bees simply marched into the nucleus box from their temporary residence on some blokes lawn About 3 months later I got it home and perched it under my Eucalyptus torquata (Coral Gum, from the Goldfields region of WA) for a bit of arvo shade The brood box needed a bit of work unfortunately...

Sitting in the garden earlier today under my lemon tree, working out how I'm going to keep my bees this year, when a New Holland Honeyeater was rustling in the tree above with a bee in its beak! Gulp, gone!