Published - 7 August 2020 By Nadine Chapman European Foulbrood European foulbrood is a bacterial disease caused by Melissococcus plutonius. It is highly contagious. The brood are infected by food contaminated with the bacterium. The … Read More American foulbrood, European foulbrood, hive management Agrichemicals, Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Nutrition, Pests and diseases
Published - 4 June 2020 By Nadine Chapman Hygienic behaviour For a colony to show hygienic behaviour, there are three things the workers must do. The first is detection: a worker bee must sense that … Read More American foulbrood, brood disease, chalkbrood, European foulbrood, hive management, hygienic behaviour, varroa Breeding, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases
Published - 17 March 2020 By Nadine Chapman (University of Sydney) To feed or not to feed? Part 2. The importance of nutrition to disease Honey bee populations have declined in many parts of the globe, with pests and diseases being a major cause. An Agrifutures Australia project, led by … Read More autumn, hive management, nosema, nutrition, pollen Managing your hives, Nutrition, Pests and diseases
Published - 13 March 2020 By Nadine Chapman Hive management for Nosema Nosemosis is a disease of honey bees caused by the parasites Nosema apis and N. ceranae. Nosemosis often affects adult field bees which can reduce … Read More autumn, biosecurity, hive management, nosema, winter Managing your hives, Nutrition, Pests and diseases, Policy and compliance
Published - 5 December 2019 By Nadine Chapman Summer management It’s getting hot hot hot, and so are your bees! Extreme heat can melt beeswax, kill brood or even the entire colony. Keep your colonies cool Site … Read More apiary location, hive management, summer, ventilation Code of Practice, Managing your hives
Published - 4 December 2019 By Nadine Chapman Screened bottom boards Varroa has not yet established in Australia. In the advent that it does establish, beekeepers need to be aware of the available control methods. Chemical … Read More hive management, screened bottom boards, varroa Agrichemicals, Biosecurity, Honey, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases
Published - 19 September 2019 By Nadine Chapman Fire safety for beekeepers Smoke causes bees to stop guarding the entrance to the colony, move inside and gorge on honey. Just like humans, bees are easier to deal … Read More fire, hive management, safety, smoker Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Policy and compliance
Published - 12 September 2019 By Nadine Chapman Spring management Spring has sprung, and it is time for beekeepers to spring into action to ensure a good season. Early spring inspections Is there a laying queen? Is there … Read More chalkbrood, hive management, honey, queen bees, spring, supplementary feeding, swarming Breeding, Managing your hives, Nutrition, Pests and diseases
Published - 3 September 2019 By Nadine Chapman, Tom Gillard American Foulbrood American Foulbrood is a highly contagious and fatal disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. This bacterium can survive for extended periods by forming spores … Read More American foulbrood, barrier management, biosecurity, hive management Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Policy and compliance
Published - 23 August 2019 By Nadine Chapman, Dr Doug Somerville To feed or not to feed By definition honey is a “natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of blossoms … which honey bees collect, transform and combine … Read More biosecurity, hive management, nosema, nutrition, pollen, sugar, supplementary feeding Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Nutrition, Pests and diseases
Published - 19 August 2019 By Nadine Chapman Chalkbrood The fungus Ascosphaera apis causes chalkbrood disease in honey bees. The disease occurs in honey bee larvae fed fungal spores by nurse bees. The spores … Read More barrier management, chalkbrood, hive management, spring Managing your hives, Nutrition, Pests and diseases
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 … Read More almonds, biosecurity, hive management, pollination Agrichemicals, Biosecurity, Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Policy and compliance, Pollination