I took my first tentative steps back into beekeeping in December 2019. As anyone on the world would recall, this was the worst summer on record in Australia. We had raging bushfires everywhere, on the back of am extended drought. We humans were doing it tough, but the bees were probably suffering more.
Living on an acreage, I had no intention of ontrpdicong bees until the heat settled and the trees began recovering. Fortunately, my mum lived on Newcastle by the beach, so I had a Plan B.
I was actually buying this first hive for my sister, she'd done a short course on beekeeping and is my mother's primary carer. She needed a break, but not wanting to load her with more work, I planned on tending the bees and let her enjoy their company and may be some honey.
I searched Gumtree for bees and discovered several locals flogging off "nucs" for around $200. A "nuc" is a baby hive, usually a single small box with just 5 frames. (Most hives have either 8 or 10 frames.) The procedure is to buy a nuc and add frames as the colony expands.
I made a random call from the list and it literally changed my life. Actually, I didn't know it them so much, but just 10 weeks further on, I do now. The first thing my Mentor- To- Bee was sat me on my impatient arse, which is exactly what I needed. He refused to meet me have any of his bees until the weather cooled.
As I waited, I reflected on my previous beekeeping failures. Some years ago, full of vim I attended a short course at the local ag. college. Actually it really want Mich puff a course, I think it was really just an introductory course designed to flag beekeeping to the general public to spark an interest in further study. I read a few books, I made a few boxes, I assembled frames, added wire and wax. I really wanted some bee action, but was frustrated that I just couldn't make it happen.
Then one day I tripped over an ad for free bees. I thought, cool! (Yes, I was an impatient fool). I rushed out to a nearby property and the landowner described how she found these hives when she bought the property, that an experienced
Beekeeper had been out and claimed all but one hive. I was actually disappointed because I thought I could handle ad many free hives as she had. Anyway, I was shown my one hive, covered in kikuyu and melting into the earth. I know enough now, I should have walked away. But I didn't, I carefully loaded it in a trailer, carted it home and have it a prime spot. At home, I pout on a veil and smoked the hive, I used my shiny new hive tool to prise apart hive parts to reveal a dark sticky mess. I had no idea what I was looking at. I was in over my head, with a terminal colony and no idea how to recognise the problems, nor how to rescue it. Within weeks I had an empty hive, well it was full off webs! Wax moth always attack weak colonies. I was shattered, I thought I'd failed and I lost confidence.
Next thing I knew, I was soaring among the clouds again ... a neighbour phoned me about a swarm. It's read all about swarms, what could go wrong? Well, they were gone before sun up.
I then entered a bee-less period that lasted several years. I still harbored an interest in bees, but I was turned off.
In the years before I rang Warren, I got some Native Bees. I put them by the back door and marveled at them, they needed next to no care, but the returns were very meagre. I taught myself to split my hives, but a bout off hot weather saw them of too. More pain.
I needed help before I was put on trial for mistreatment of bees.
Living on an acreage, I had no intention of ontrpdicong bees until the heat settled and the trees began recovering. Fortunately, my mum lived on Newcastle by the beach, so I had a Plan B.
I was actually buying this first hive for my sister, she'd done a short course on beekeeping and is my mother's primary carer. She needed a break, but not wanting to load her with more work, I planned on tending the bees and let her enjoy their company and may be some honey.
I searched Gumtree for bees and discovered several locals flogging off "nucs" for around $200. A "nuc" is a baby hive, usually a single small box with just 5 frames. (Most hives have either 8 or 10 frames.) The procedure is to buy a nuc and add frames as the colony expands.
I made a random call from the list and it literally changed my life. Actually, I didn't know it them so much, but just 10 weeks further on, I do now. The first thing my Mentor- To- Bee was sat me on my impatient arse, which is exactly what I needed. He refused to meet me have any of his bees until the weather cooled.
As I waited, I reflected on my previous beekeeping failures. Some years ago, full of vim I attended a short course at the local ag. college. Actually it really want Mich puff a course, I think it was really just an introductory course designed to flag beekeeping to the general public to spark an interest in further study. I read a few books, I made a few boxes, I assembled frames, added wire and wax. I really wanted some bee action, but was frustrated that I just couldn't make it happen.
Then one day I tripped over an ad for free bees. I thought, cool! (Yes, I was an impatient fool). I rushed out to a nearby property and the landowner described how she found these hives when she bought the property, that an experienced
Beekeeper had been out and claimed all but one hive. I was actually disappointed because I thought I could handle ad many free hives as she had. Anyway, I was shown my one hive, covered in kikuyu and melting into the earth. I know enough now, I should have walked away. But I didn't, I carefully loaded it in a trailer, carted it home and have it a prime spot. At home, I pout on a veil and smoked the hive, I used my shiny new hive tool to prise apart hive parts to reveal a dark sticky mess. I had no idea what I was looking at. I was in over my head, with a terminal colony and no idea how to recognise the problems, nor how to rescue it. Within weeks I had an empty hive, well it was full off webs! Wax moth always attack weak colonies. I was shattered, I thought I'd failed and I lost confidence.
Next thing I knew, I was soaring among the clouds again ... a neighbour phoned me about a swarm. It's read all about swarms, what could go wrong? Well, they were gone before sun up.
I then entered a bee-less period that lasted several years. I still harbored an interest in bees, but I was turned off.
In the years before I rang Warren, I got some Native Bees. I put them by the back door and marveled at them, they needed next to no care, but the returns were very meagre. I taught myself to split my hives, but a bout off hot weather saw them of too. More pain.
I needed help before I was put on trial for mistreatment of bees.
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