It's Starting

[Wombat2]

Apart from the fact I have been smelling the honey walking past the hives for the last month I can now see the Tallowwood in flower - can see 5 in the National Park behind and 3 in the neighbors over the road and there are 2 up the street. The bees are making a bee-line straight toward a group of 3 in the Park - It's starting - better start working on more boxes and frames.

[SB-Russ]

I just got an email from my supplier that my first order of gear is ready to pick up  going to be a weekend of assembling and painting for me. Now if only I can find someone to sell me bees before it's too late....

[BeeMaster2]

Why buy the bees. Make up a nuc, put 5 empty frames in it, add some slum gum, or old wax from a local beek, add 4 drops of lemon grass oil on top of the frames and place it 6' or more above the ground and catch your own.
Jim

[SB-Russ]

Why buy the bees. Make up a nuc, put 5 empty frames in it, add some slum gum, or old wax from a local beek, add 4 drops of lemon grass oil on top of the frames and place it 6' or more above the ground and catch your own.
Jim

I had considered whether there may be some feral swarms to catch, but given I don't know any local beeks, lemon grass oil is expensive and hard to get, and I have no 6' pole to mount on (my property is a barren wasteland of weedy grass), I guess I'm trying to take the easy way out. However, the pole I can fix, and I can build a nuc, so I'll look into it a bit more.

[kalium]

Apart from the fact I have been smelling the honey walking past the hives for the last month I can now see the Tallowwood in flower - can see 5 in the National Park behind and 3 in the neighbors over the road and there are 2 up the street. The bees are making a bee-line straight toward a group of 3 in the Park - It's starting - better start working on more boxes and frames.

I must be lucky. There are quite a few large tallow wood trees in my area (one being about 50m from the hives...) and they have been flowering for the past six weeks.

[BeeMaster2]

Why buy the bees. Make up a nuc, put 5 empty frames in it, add some slum gum, or old wax from a local beek, add 4 drops of lemon grass oil on top of the frames and place it 6' or more above the ground and catch your own.
Jim

I had considered whether there may be some feral swarms to catch, but given I don't know any local beeks, lemon grass oil is expensive and hard to get, and I have no 6' pole to mount on (my property is a barren wasteland of weedy grass), I guess I'm trying to take the easy way out. However, the pole I can fix, and I can build a nuc, so I'll look into it a bit more.

r

Why buy the bees. Make up a nuc, put 5 empty frames in it, add some slum gum, or old wax from a local beek, add 4 drops of lemon grass oil on top of the frames and place it 6' or more above the ground and catch your own.

Jim

I have traps in trees, I screw a hook into a branch and use a rope over the hook to pull them up, and I have traps on top of an old pay phone. It seems to be the favorite place for swarms.
You do not want to place them where you have to climb a ladder to get it down.
Jim
I had considered whether there may be some feral swarms to catch, but given I don't know any local beeks, lemon grass oil is expensive and hard to get, and I have no 6' pole to mount on (my property is a barren wasteland of weedy grass), I guess I'm trying to take the easy way out. However, the pole I can fix, and I can build a nuc, so I'll look into it a bit more.

[BeeMaster2]

I don't know what happened but I really messed that post up.
Jim

[SB-Russ]

Lol Jim :)

As to the original question, our line Wattle tree is towing madly again. how many times in one season can those things flower????

I have yet to learn that knack of identifying all the various gums in the surrounding properties, or see when they are flowering. Wish I had a mentor to help in that respect.  I have a "trees of Australia" books, but they all look the same to me :)

[Dave86]

Lol Jim :)

As to the original question, our line Wattle tree is towing madly again. how many times in one season can those things flower????

I have yet to learn that knack of identifying all the various gums in the surrounding properties, or see when they are flowering. Wish I had a mentor to help in that respect.  I have a "trees of Australia" books, but they all look the same to me :)

Where abouts in QLD are you Russ??? Let me know via pm if you want.

[Wombat2]

Have read that Wattle is poor for nectar and poor for pollen bit of a bummer as I like the look of them and species flower for about 8 months

[SB-Russ]

Have read that Wattle is poor for nectar and poor for pollen bit of a bummer as I like the look of them and species flower for about 8 months

No good for Nectar, but according the the Bee Friendly planting guide (https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/downloads/12-014) there are a couple of varieties that are good for pollen. Theres some feral bees around here that certainly seem to like ours. Plus its one of the few garden trees we can get to grow here that'll survive on the little water we can give it.

[Chiefman]

Have read that Wattle is poor for nectar and poor for pollen

I have seen the bees carting LOADS of pollen off the wattle tree near our hive this year. Nearly every fourth bee was bringing some back

[Geoff]

       

   It has started .

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah51/Yinnarboy1/IMG_0007_zpssm4myxn5.jpg?1440908493900&1440908494424