Author: Nick Annand, NSW DPI Bathurst

The Australian Centre of International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is currently funding a project (Project No.HORT/2004/030) to develop management strategies in the Solomon Islands to control the recently introduced pest Apis cerana (Asian honey bee).  The Solomon Islands are a volcanic-derived group of islands that stretch more than 1000km from Papua New Guinea (PNG) through the south-west pacific towards Vanuatu. The Asian honey bee was first identified on the Solomon Islands in 2003 and...

Author: Des Cannon

Since publishing the Competency Standards in Beekeeping, (January, 2009, p.247), The ABK has received a number of phone calls, letters and emails requesting more information about where interested people could undertake courses. The reality is that at this point in time there is no one Registered Training Organisation (RTO) which offers a Course whereby a participant can satisfy all the requirements for an Apiary Certificate. Tocal Agricultural College at Paterson does offer NSWDPI courses in...

Author: Paul Frost, Adelaide, South Australia

Having recently (Oct 2008) returned from the beautiful Yellow Box country of Victoria’s Grampian Ranges, and visiting the now abandoned Zumsteins’ site, I am still reflecting on the tenacity and inspirational drive of our early beekeepers. While driving north-west along the Mount Victory Road about 22 kms from Halls Gap I pulled into a wayside stop alongside the Mackenzie River for a break when I encountered a number of memorials and plaques to the memory of Walter Zumstein. One of the...

Author: Pele Cannon

The most recent Climate Champion Program Conference was held on 21/22 March in Canberra. The main event of this Conference was at the National Press Club – a mini-conference (involving mainly the 34 Climate Champions) covering issues around managing climate and emissions on-farm, followed by a full, televised lunch and panel discussion about food security in a changing climate (with a lot of journalists and government people attending). The mini-conference started with Peter Hayman from the SA...

Author: John Tadman

For the past fourteen months I have had a strong double-entrance beehive in a fully screened greenhouse, when conventional wisdom said it could not be done. Although success with a single hive proves nothing, it is a very encouraging start. In the winter of 2011, my neighbour Ray Daniels of Sunray Strawberries asked me to put a hive of honeybees, Apis mellifera, in an experimental greenhouse on his strawberry farm. Ray, and the manager of a firm named Magnificent, Rudi Bartels, who specialises...

Author: Luisa Kühn

I’m Luisa, a 22 years old agriculture student from Germany. I live in a village near Weimar in the centre of Germany. My interest about bees comes from my father, he has always had a few beehives and already his father (my grandfather) had bees. The interest grew during my studies in horticulture...

Author: Lindsay Callaway

Introduction Have you ever wondered what it would be like to transport bees utilizing a fully insulated air conditioned curtain side truck body?  Since the winter of 2004 we have been doing just that.  With this article I’d like to share with you the many benefits (including; shifting hives securely during both night and day, transporting honey supers in a bee tight and climate controlled environment). I’d also like to highlight the system’s weakness (including the initial expense, problems...

Author: 

John Banfield, Queen breeder from Redhead, NSW, has sent the following photos through to The ABK. John said the firestorm was so intense that, even though these hives were on mown sites and sandy soil, this was all that was left of 80 two-way nucs and 60 drone-mother hives. The firesd occurred at two different sites, at Redhead and Raymond Terrace...

Author: The Editor - Compiled with permission from NSWDPI Agfacts

American Foulbrood - What is it? American foulbrood (AFB) disease is the most serious brood disease of bees in NSW. It is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. In Australia, it has been found in all states. Infection may lead to serious economic loss through the destruction of colonies and loss of production. It is a notifiable disease under the NSW Apiaries Act 1985. There is a persistent low level of infection in NSW. Early and accurate diagnosis is essential Spores remain viable...

Author: Rodolfo Jaffé

Collaborative Initiative for Bee Research (CIBER: www.ciber.science.uwa.edu.au) Centre for Evolutionary Biology (M092) / ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

(Ed.Note: It has not been possible to add the photographs that accompanied this article to the web version) What do we know about drones? Although many aspects of honeybee biology have been studied extensively over the past decades, the males have always remained the neglected gender [1]. This is partly due to the fact that honeybee drones do not participate in any of the colony’s tasks, and also because they are mostly present during a short season. Moreover, the most important event in a...