Thread: Honey bees are under threat

I saw a doco on land line a while ago that showed how much trouble the Australian honey bee is in,i found it very disturbing because a lot of research done by the CSIRO was not heeded.

What i didn't know either was how many crops we would lose if we lost the Bee's.So good on you Bob for giving the bee keeping a go

Originally Posted by disco man

I saw a doco on land line a while ago that showed how much trouble the Australian honey bee is in,i found it very disturbing because a lot of research done by the CSIRO was not heeded.

What i didn't know either was how many crops we would lose if we lost the Bee's.So good on you Bob for giving the bee keeping a go

Umm, they're not Australian, they're an introduced species that is slowly wiping out the several species of Australian Native Bee, of which we are fortunate to have a couple of natural hives on the property, therefore any Euro honey bee I come across is despatched with quickly, in an humane way. The native bee is as good, if not better, at pollination for our fruit & vegies than the Euro as well.
Steve

Originally Posted by Saitch

Umm, they're not Australian, they're an introduced species that is slowly wiping out the several species of Australian Native Bee, of which we are fortunate to have a couple of natural hives on the property, therefore any Euro honey bee I come across is despatched with quickly, in an humane way. The native bee is as good, if not better, at pollination for our fruit & vegies than the Euro as well.
Steve

It seems i got the species wrong thank you for pointing that out.I wasn't trying to mislead anybody sorry fellas.

Originally Posted by Saitch

Umm, they're not Australian, they're an introduced species that is slowly wiping out the several species of Australian Native Bee, of which we are fortunate to have a couple of natural hives on the property, therefore any Euro honey bee I come across is despatched with quickly, in an humane way. The native bee is as good, if not better, at pollination for our fruit & vegies than the Euro as well.
Steve

I don't know where you get that information from, the honey bee and Aus. native bee survive together with no problem at all. Bob

Originally Posted by bob10

I don't know where you get that information from, the honey bee and Aus. native bee survive together with no problem at all. Bob

Yes, on the surface, they appear to Bob but there are secondary concerns.
Steve
Invasive bees in Australia

I keep bees, 2 hives to be exact. About 4 years ago I had a massive attack of hive beetle which wiped out all my 4 hives. That year, without bees I had to hand pollinate all my pumpkin patch. Fortunately I was able to get a small hive from a friend half way through Summer so they took over. There used to be wild swarms around here but they seem to have disappeared. Agriculture will be in turmoil if we lose bees. Incidentally I have a lot of native bees here now. Jim

I've always thought it would be an interesting hobby after checking out a mates hive years ago. So much to learn about bees that you would'nt know about unless you ask.
My Issue is I don't have enough land to keep them.

I heard that with the right permits, you can keep bees on traveling stock reserves (TSR's). Plenty of them up my way.

Originally Posted by jx2mad

I keep bees, 2 hives to be exact. About 4 years ago I had a massive attack of hive beetle which wiped out all my 4 hives. That year, without bees I had to hand pollinate all my pumpkin patch. Fortunately I was able to get a small hive from a friend half way through Summer so they took over. There used to be wild swarms around here but they seem to have disappeared. Agriculture will be in turmoil if we lose bees. Incidentally I have a lot of native bees here now. Jim

Hive beetle can be controlled. There are new bottom boards that allow the bees to chase the beetle into the bottom of the hive, where they are dispatched by drowning in oil , or chemical means, such as cockroach bait. The bees can not access the bottom area. Bees will chase the beetle, but can not kill it, as the beetle is too small. BTW, scientific tests have determined our native bee honey to have more medicinal properties than NZ manuka honey, Bob