Managing your hives Archives - Professional Beekeepers

published - 15 July 2019
By Nadine Chapman

Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC)

The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) vision is a sustainable and profitable Australian honey bee industry providing food security and market opportunities. AHBIC’s mission is to represent the best interest of the Australian beekeeping industry through advocacy and the prioritizing of research, development and education.

Video: In this video, Peter McDonald, …
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AHBIC, biosecurity

Beekeeping on public land, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Policy and compliance, Pollination, Registration

published - 4 July 2019
By Nadine Chapman, University of Sydney

Almond pollination: hive management

Every year in August over 200,000 bee colonies are taken to New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to pollinate more than 30,000 hectares (Almond Board of Australia 2017-18 Almond Insights) of almond trees.
Honey bee pollen foragers perform most pollination of almonds. To increase the number of pollen foragers brood …
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almonds, biosecurity, hive management, pollination

Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Policy and compliance, Pollination

published - 24 June 2019
By Nadine Chapman

Hive management: Autumn & winter

Hive management in autumn is critical to ensuring your hives survive winter. Disease and colony management is best performed in autumn rather than in winter.
Perform a pre-winter inspection in late April or early May on a warm sunny day:

Ensure that all colonies have a laying queen
Colonies without a queen …
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American foulbrood, autumn, hive management, nosema, supplementary feeding, winter

Managing your hives, Pests and diseases

published - 11 June 2019
By Nadine Chapman

Wax moth

There are two species of wax moth in Australia. These are the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella and the lesser wax moth Achroia grisella. Both can cause significant damage. Wax moth is primarily a concern for stored combs, but may also be a problem for weak colonies.
Adult wax moths are …
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comb storage, spring, summer, wax moth

Managing your hives, Pests and diseases

published - 2 April 2019
By Diana Leemon

Pests and diseases – Small hive beetle

Summer brings warmth, hopefully rain, flowers and with luck; lots of honey bee activity. Unfortunately for beekeepers in many areas of Australia it also means lots of Small Hive Beetle (SHB) activity.
The life cycle of SHB involves adult beetles moving into hives where they will feed on hive debris, pollen …
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Managing your hives, Pests and diseases

published - 2 April 2019
By Liz Frost

Apiary sites on public lands

The Australian beekeeping industry depends on access to apiary sites on both private and public land. Private land sites are up to the beekeeper to find and organise with private landholders, whereas public land is available in all states and territories save for the Australian Capital Territory. Each state and …
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Beekeeping on public land, Managing your hives, Policy and compliance

published - 2 April 2019
By Nadine Chapman

Polyandry: what is it and why should beekeepers care?

Polyandry, a fancy word for something that all beekeepers know: honey bee queens mate with multiple males. The average is 12, but two Australian studies suggest this is an underestimate, with 28 mates being more likely.
Previous research has shown that the number of times a queen mates can have important …
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mating, queen bees

Managing your hives, Pests and diseases

published - 2 April 2019
By Ruth Luckner

Introducing the Professional Beekeepers Community of Practice

The Professional Beekeepers Community of Practice (CoP) has been established to meet the needs of rural and regional Australia for the extension of knowledge and promote collaboration on important issues to commercial beekeeping.
Led by passionate and knowledgeable industry experts from around Australia, the Professional Beekeeping community provides the most recent, …
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community of practice

Beekeeping on public land, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Policy and compliance, Pollination, Registration, Resources

published - 30 March 2019
By Diana Leemon, AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program

Honey bee and pollination industry update

The AgriFuturesTM Honey Bee & Pollination Program aims to support Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) that will ensure a productive, sustainable and more profitable Australian beekeeping industry and secure the pollination of Australia’s horticultural and agricultural crops.
Key components of the program
Key components of this program include increasing productivity and profitability …
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Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Pollination, Resources

published - 28 March 2019
By Liz Frost

670,000+ registered honey bee hives in Australia

672,216 honey bee hives and 25,495 beekeepers are registered in Australia according to Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) past Executive Director Trevor Weatherhead.

TOTAL NUMBER OF BEEKEEPERS NATIONALLY
25,495

TOTAL NUMBER OF BEE HIVES IN AUSTRALIA
672,216

With the assistance of state and territory government staff, Weatherhead compiled an update of beekeeper and …
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Managing your hives, Registration