Recent posts

#11

GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Varroa is finally in my ar...

Last post by Lesgold - January 22, 2025, 05:23:45 PM

Thanks Reagan and Phillip. I will be relying on you guys for advice over the next year or so. Reagan, I like your thinking. I have always worked on the principle of survival of the fittest. I never feed my bees (even when times are tough). After the major fires that we had about 5 years ago, the bush was decimated and there was very little food for the bees to gather. I noticed that some hives maintained reasonable bee numbers and still had honey store levels that enabled them to survive. The weaker hives struggled and eventually perished. I lost about 8 hives that year. I believe the stronger hives were prepared to travel further to areas that had not burnt and therefore their traits allowed them to keep going. The drought we had over the past 6 months has finally broken. I lost about 3 hives as I was not prepared to prop up weaker colonies with food. The remaining hives managed bee numbers and food stores well. I am hoping that I do not have to rely on too heavily on chemical treatments for controlling mites. From what I?m hearing, there may not be much choice in the first couple of years where feral colonies will collapse and many hives kept by local beekeepers will just become mite bombs. Not having a complete winter brood break will cause other issues in the coming years. I will be trialling artificial brood breaks, and will attempt to use Oxalic acid as a method to keep mite numbers down. Two days ago I spoke to a guy who has bees in an area that is heavily infested. He knocked mite numbers down with Formicpro and then put Oxalic acid cardboard strips into his hives. He said that the Oxalic strips did not wipe out the mite but they have kept numbers down at a reasonable level. That sounds promising.

#12

EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS / Re: Today I Made

Last post by Lesgold - January 22, 2025, 04:49:26 PM

That?s the plan. I?m using the same material JC. I?ll be using vegetable spray oil to coat the surface of the sheet.

#13

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FORUM / Re: Gold prospecting using a m...

Last post by Lesgold - January 22, 2025, 04:44:52 PM

The pile would have been better if it was much higher lol. The main thing is the memories that the hunts generated. Not sure about about a trip this year Phillip. Family stuff may be the focus for the immediate future. Will be back to the usual haunts when the weather cools down a bit. That?s funny Terri Y. Selling gold nuggets is quite easy. It?s surprising how popular an investment they are.

#14

EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS / Re: Today I Made

Last post by jimineycricket - January 22, 2025, 10:59:21 AM

        I use a screen bottom board with a thin ply slide under the screen.  When I want a sticky board,
I take the slide out and put in one made with coroplast  (plastic cardboard) which I coat with shortening.
       I always like to see and monitor what is dropping onto the slide all the time, even in the winter.

#15

GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: BeeMaster slow and not res...

Last post by iddee - January 22, 2025, 09:22:06 AM

Ain't no doctor. Got no patients.   

#16

GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: BeeMaster slow and not res...

Last post by BeeMaster2 - January 22, 2025, 09:04:26 AM

Our IT worked all day yesterday to get ready to move BeeMaster to a new server. We, the mods will be testing it out to see if it will work and find the bugs this week. This will take a while and as soon as we get it ready we will switch.
Please have patience.
Jim Altmiller

#17

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FORUM / Re: Gold prospecting using a m...

Last post by Terri Yaki - January 22, 2025, 08:10:46 AM

I'm jealous of that pile, Les. If I was you, I'd be inclined to hang out at the cruise ship dock, selling them to tourists.

#18

GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: BeeMaster slow and not res...

Last post by Michael Bush - January 22, 2025, 06:12:45 AM

They are probably all robots...

#19

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FORUM / Re: Gold prospecting using a m...

Last post by Ben Framed - January 21, 2025, 11:20:06 PM

The pile itself was a good chunk! Thanks Les for keeping this topic moving. I Have really enjoyed reading of your prospecting while viewing your pictures. So interesting and appreciated! PS are you planning another cross country trip? That series was awesome!

Phillip

[Varroa detected in Australia]

#20

GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Varroa is finally in my ar...

Last post by Ben Framed - January 21, 2025, 11:11:36 PM

Les we knew this Inevitable day would be in time a reality. That is why several of us posted of different methods of dealing with this terrible parasite on the topic: Varroa detected in Australia Hopefully our postings,  with you all in mind, might have done some good by sharing our experiences. As always wishing you all the very best!

Phillip