Winter Hive Management: Keeping Your Bees Strong in Cooler Regions
Strategic Winter Preparation for Serious Beekeepers For commercial and committed hobby beekeepers, winter isn’t a quiet season—it’s a critical period that can determine the strength and productivity of next year’s colonies. In Australia’s cooler regions, effective winter hive management is
Splitting Hives: A Guide to Creating New Colonies
Scaling Smart: Why Hive Splits Matter in Modern Apiculture For serious and commercial beekeepers in Australia, hive splitting is not just a seasonal task—it’s a strategic tool. Whether the goal is expansion, swarm control, or genetic management, well-timed and well-executed splits can significan
The Impact of Pesticides on Australian Bee Populations
A Growing Pressure on Australian Apiaries For serious and commercial beekeepers across Australia, hive health is no longer just about seasonal management or honey flows—it’s increasingly shaped by external pressures that are harder to control. Among these, pesticide exposure has become one of th
American Foulbrood: Recognising and Treating This Deadly Bee Disease
A Threat No Serious Beekeeper Can Ignore For Australian beekeepers operating at scale or with long-term breeding and production goals, few threats are as confronting as American Foulbrood (AFB). This bacterial disease does not merely weaken colonies; it destroys them, spreads silently, and can devas
Queens for Success: How to Raise Strong, Productive Bee Colonies
For commercial and committed beekeepers, a strong, well-mated queen is at the heart of every thriving colony. A productive queen sets the tone for colony temperament, honey yield, and resilience against disease and environmental stressors. In Australia’s unique climate and evolving industry landsc
Mite Maths
Andrew Wootton Here in Victoria, it’s the calm before the (varroa) storm. The Victorian heat map of July shows three detection clusters, the incursion is well-seeded. And almond pollination will inevitably be a super-spreader event. I’m assuming I will have mites in my hive sometime
How to Identify and Prevent American Foulbrood (AFB) in Your Hives
American Foulbrood may be microscopic, but can be devastating. Keep your hives healthy. Simple steps for identification and prevention
Varroa Mite in Australia: What Beekeepers Need to Know
A New Threat to Australian Beekeeping For years, Australian beekeepers watched from afar as Varroa destructor, one of the most destructive pests of honey bees worldwide, wreaked havoc on colonies across Europe, North America, and Asia. Australia remained one of the few countries free of this invasiv
How to Keep Your Hives Healthy in Australia’s Changing Climate
Things are changing… Australia’s climate is becoming increasingly unpredictable, with extreme heatwaves, prolonged droughts, and unseasonal rainfall affecting ecosystems across the country. For beekeepers, these changes pose significant challenges in maintaining healthy and productive hives.