Thread: A Helping Hand.

It would seam the average hive with bees in Brisbane is $500. I can build the hive my self , I have the drawings . My wife bought me a book on Stingless Bees , she also bought a bee shelter which is a small house full of different size bamboo. We had native bees around last year but there are none this year I think it has been too dry, we have not had any rain so to speak since early March. Not even our Lavender is flowering this year so don't think it is good time to introduce them. I may just build the hive for something to do & see what happens.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

It would seam the average hive with bees in Brisbane is $500. I can build the hive my self , I have the drawings . My wife bought me a book on Stingless Bees , she also bought a bee shelter which is a small house full of different size bamboo. We had native bees around last year but there are none this year I think it has been too dry, we have not had any rain so to speak since early March. Not even our Lavender is flowering this year so don't think it is good time to introduce them. I may just build the hive for something to do & see what happens.

Native bees will survive just fine in suburbia....they also store way more honey and pollen than they need.

Yes they are expensive to buy, just be weary of the cheaper ones on offer, seems to be more and more chasing a quick earn by splitting and selling hives that are week and eventually die. The cheap and nasties don’t come with a guarantee.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

It would seam the average hive with bees in Brisbane is $500. I can build the hive my self , I have the drawings . My wife bought me a book on Stingless Bees , she also bought a bee shelter which is a small house full of different size bamboo. We had native bees around last year but there are none this year I think it has been too dry, we have not had any rain so to speak since early March. Not even our Lavender is flowering this year so don't think it is good time to introduce them. I may just build the hive for something to do & see what happens.

That's about the going price. Considering the honey you can harvest is negligible, they are really only for the real enthusiasts. You can get good results by planting bee attracting plants, and by practising organic gardening. Some info here; [ the bees they talk about are the European honey bee. ]

Bee friendly planting | Organic Gardener Magazine Australia

Looks like a Butcher Bird, we have a couple that come in every morning, I feed them and a family of magpies a bit of meat. Seems to keep them in the one area as they nest elswhere. I figure if I feed them a bit I might save couple of other baby birds as we have a lot of wrens and finches around here.

Originally Posted by Gav 110

Black faced cuckooshrike
We have a few of them at the farm
I have found if you get close to their nest they will lead you away from that area
Great for flying insects and they eat more than there fair share of mulberries when in season

Thanks for the warning, Gav. Our couple of mulberry trees are fruiting for the 1st time and we have a couple of cuckoo shrikes here.
I always assumed that they were carnivorous only. Time to net the trees.

[QUOTE=1950landy;3027864
I was thinking of buying a Native Bee hive until I saw the cost. .[/QUOTE]

Ask you local treelopper blokes to save you one. Pay with a box of beer. While you're waiting for it to turn up, study up on their requirements etc
Don.

Originally Posted by Gav 110

Black faced cuckooshrike
We have a few of them at the farm
I have found if you get close to their nest they will lead you away from that area
Great for flying insects and they eat more than there fair share of mulberries when in season

The cuckoo shrike does not have a strong hooked bill, although the silver backed butcher bird has been described as a shrike like bird. Reading thru my field guide to birds of Aus., I was surprised to find five different butcher bird's ranging in colour from black [ fully brown /light cinnamon when juvenile], to pied, black backed ,grey, and silver backed.

silver backed butcherbird - Bing images

Originally Posted by Saitch

Thanks for the warning, Gav. Our couple of mulberry trees are fruiting for the 1st time and we have a couple of cuckoo shrikes here.
I always assumed that they were carnivorous only. Time to net the trees.

They definitely eat the berries, I’ve seen them attacking others that have come in to steal the fruit
We don’t worry about netting, there is enough fruit for everyone off my trees (5+ metres high, double that in width) the bob tails clean up the ones that drop, guinea fowl help out a bit as well