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BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: Lone on January 06, 2012, 11:17:17 am

Title: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 06, 2012, 11:17:17 am
Hello,

After a 7 hour drive I've come back home after midnight with the 3 story hive of stingless bees I bought.
Old Fred is away so I put them in his chookshed in town and won't he get a nice surprise!  :)  I thought town would give them the best chance while they settle in and I plan to bring them home when the bloodwood comes out. 

I need all the help and advice I can squeeze out of you all.  First of all, do they like bloodwood?  I don't even know what questions to ask but I don't want to make devastating booboos.  I couldn't manage to hang them up by myself - will they be safe from ants there on the bench?

The bloke showed me inside a couple of his hives, so now I can recognise pollen, brood and honey.  I also learnt that light at night doesn't bother them...so possibly I can keep them on the verandah after all?  I want to keep them out of the rain, but do they prefer shade or our hot NQ sun?  Facing any direction?

I don't want to disturb them for a long time yet because they were a fairly recent split, but I'll monitor how many fly in.

Thanks in advance,

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: hardwood on January 06, 2012, 02:55:14 pm
Please keep us informed of all you learn...I'm fascinated! Are they susceptible to mites/SHB?

Scott 
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Harpo on January 06, 2012, 07:22:53 pm
Hi Lone,

hhmm funny!! I've had more experience with the native stingless as my Dad has had them since I was 9 and I'm now 40!!!! This is the same bunch of bees - they've swarmed a few times but must have always replaced their queen....

Believe it or not they were there when they bought that house in coastal Redcliffe, Qld - they reside in a besser block wall and we'd hate to think how much honey lurks inside it... Dad loves them as they do such a great job propagating his fruit trees etc and was once mortified when he lit the backyard incinerator ( which was next to the wall ) and started to see honey oozing out from the cracks ....

Their backyard has ants galore - little black ants, green ants, leaf stitcher ants - you name it and they've never looked like harassing them???

Please let me us know how you go with them!!!!

Daina
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 07, 2012, 11:03:17 am
Hardwood,  my knowledge of them is as big as one of those mites. Actually, we don't have mites here yet. I don't know about SHB but at the seller's apiary he found a deadout which was teeming with grubs.  I thought they might be SHB but there weren't beetles.  I am not good at telling the difference between SHB and waxmoth. I've heard the stingless are pretty aggressive with intruders. Apparently the stingless don't abscond but go down with the hive.  I found it fascinating seeing the "honey bags", the balls of pollen, and the little balls of larvae which are something the size of cooked sago but brown and crunchy. 

That's great, Harpo.  There are always bees in the garden, but I've never been able to find their hideout!  The blighters are tiny. I might have to get a book and start to read some more.  It is risky only having one hive, but they are pretty expensive to buy.  I hope I will be able to split it in the distant future.

I have a lump of wax to melt down.  They use it on the ends of digeridoos.  I wonder what other uses the wax has?

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on January 07, 2012, 09:38:07 pm
I have been keeping stingless bees for a long while now. You don't have to worry about SHB, mites or any other pest. About the only thing you need to worry about is the green tree frogs hanging off the front of the hive at night eating any bee that comes to the entrance.
You do need to be careful moving the hives though as they will go back to the original location if you don't move them far enough. Also if you have cadagi trees around, the bees can get a little carried away bringing in seed which can cause the hive to collapse. I have never had this happen though.

What style of hive box did you get? Depending on the type of box you should be able to split it every year and double your hives or collect come honey.

For some reading material you may like the Native Bees of Australia Booklet Series. I have all 10 and read them all the time. Lots of good information. They can be found here: http://www.aussiebee.com.au/infobooklets.html (http://www.aussiebee.com.au/infobooklets.html)
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 07, 2012, 11:45:37 pm
Thanks Shane.  I might have to keep picking your brain for a while.  It's good to know about the green tree frogs.  There is no landing board and I'll put them up high, so it shouldn't be a problem.  (Frogs are more of a nuisance getting into the dog water at night and the dogs play "bob the frog").  I'll only be moving the hive between town and here, 12km away.  That is bad news about the cadagi.  We planted two trees two weeks ago for the other bees.

All I know about the style of box is "homemade and unpainted".  It is a small simple box with plywood between the levels and holes in the ply.  I was told the bottom and top boxes always stay as top and bottom. I don't have the dimensions with me.  Conditions won't be as good for any bees here as where you are, so I guess splitting will be some time off, and I'll need to find out more before I attempt that.  How soon after a split do you check inside?

When I saw them today I thought about water and even though they are in town I wondered how close should they be to a water source?  I put out a dish for them in the next coop.

I'll strongly consider getting the information booklets, but first I might wait and see if they survive the first couple of weeks!

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on January 09, 2012, 05:13:21 am
Hi Lone,

re the water source I don't purposely put anything out for my bees. I have a wading pool out in the yard for the dog to play in which I see bees at every now and then but I generally let them find food and water them selves.
The hive you have should have been split at least 3 months ago so if it was going to fail it would have already. I don't think you'll have any problems with it and as they are zero maintenance, just place it somewhere and ignore it :)
Another pest I should have mentioned is ants. I don't think ants will destroy the hive but they are unsightly and the bees will spend time fighting them off. To combat the ants I mount my hives on star pickets and grease the pickets so the ants cant climb up.
Be mindful that it takes a lot of time and effort for these small bees to seal the hive after you open or split so limit opening it up as much as you can. As I said they are pretty much zero maintenance. I might open mine 3-4 times a year which includes splitting. If you do split or pop the top for a look, make sure you tape up the join to help keep out any bugs while they reseal.

Here are some pictures I just took for you.

This hive was split late last year. The picture is just to show what my boxes look like. They are made from cypress pine for good durability and insulation. The boxes are in 3 pieces, Lid, top box and bottom box/base.

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=204&g2_serialNumber=2)

Notice the resin between the top and bottom box. The boxes I made weren't very square but they sealed the gaps.

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=210&g2_serialNumber=2)

This image is to show the thickness of the timber used to build the box. The thickness is a little over kill for around here but is good for places with high or low temperatures.

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=215&g2_serialNumber=2)
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 21, 2012, 10:08:22 am
Shane,

Thanks for the great pictures.  Mine is not nearly as thick, just the usual 19 mm I think. What is that extra lid there on the top for?   I have a suspicion I have trigona carbonaria not hockingsi, but I have not seen the two together yet.  The bees here I think are a little smaller.  The bloodwoods are very slowly coming out, just 3 trees in the paddock, but when I'm sure, I'll move the little bees home here.  The split I got was done more recently, but it's my fault as I was getting nervous about another big wet and not being able to travel up there for months, and also missing a once in many year bloodwood flow.

Here is an example of tree frogs swimming in the dog water.

(http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9794/frogsinbucket.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/frogsinbucket.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lord Viykor on January 21, 2012, 06:49:26 pm
Lone,

Try to get your hands on a book called - Australian Stingless Bees by John Klumpp, it's a great book for any stingless bee keeper.

Also check out the aussiebee website (Australian Native Bee Research Centre) lot of good info there as well.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Country Heart on January 27, 2012, 04:58:01 pm
Just wondering...are stingless bees specific to Australia?

I am a new bee from the US and have never heard of them.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 27, 2012, 08:02:32 pm
Yes Country, I believe there are different species of trigona in other countries such as South America.  I don't know which ones are kept domestically.  They are so small you might have seen them and thought they were gnats  :)  Here is some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingless_bee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingless_bee)

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on March 06, 2012, 12:42:51 am
I had a real quick peek inside today.  There is pollen at the bottom, then brood, then honey.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Wonga on May 23, 2012, 12:12:46 am
Hey Lone, how does the dog like the frogs in his water? And approximately how far north are you? Thats a lot of frogs
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: JP on May 23, 2012, 08:53:12 am
Love this topic. How about some more pictures? Would love to know more about your stingless bees & how you harvest the honey.

Thanks!


...JP
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on May 23, 2012, 10:38:35 am
I'll see if I can dig up some old pictures but unfortunately its coming into winter so wont get any action from them for a while now.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on May 23, 2012, 10:45:58 am
Here a few pictures from inside one of my hives:

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=306&g2_serialNumber=2)

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=312&g2_serialNumber=2)

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=317&g2_serialNumber=2)

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=322&g2_serialNumber=2)

(http://www.greenwattle.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=327&g2_serialNumber=2)

Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: weedyau on May 23, 2012, 04:47:10 pm
It looks like they have plenty of honey to get through the winter. My natives have been collecting pollen lately. 
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Country Heart on May 24, 2012, 04:27:20 pm
How do they go about protecting themselves if they truly are stingless?   :idunno:
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on May 24, 2012, 07:44:04 pm
How do they go about protecting themselves if they truly are stingless?   :idunno:

They bite  ;)

The bite doesn't feel like much but when you have a hundred or so of them on you, it gets rather irritating.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: JP on May 25, 2012, 11:41:29 pm
Wow! Those pics are insane! So do you get honey from them & how to you go about harvesting it? Crush & strain I would presume but would love for you to expound a bit.

Love the frogs in the dog bowl BTW!


...JP
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Birdswood on May 26, 2012, 12:05:08 am
Thanks for the great pictures Shane. Is the hierarchy with stingless bees the same as with the honey bee, with the single queen, etc, etc? We get the blue banded native bee around here, but they sure are hard to spot. I see them when the citrus are in bloom.

Leigh
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on June 01, 2012, 11:32:46 am
Hello folks,

Thanks for the replies and pictures.  I still haven't learnt much about my little pets. All I know is how little I know about them.  My one inspection was very brief because I heard they don't like too many inspections.  I was too late and the series of books aren't available right now.  We are currently having a lot of dry season rain, so things are a bit quiet, but just over a week ago they were getting excited on the melaleuca honey flow.  I have photos which I'll show you one of these days.  I'm not sure if I need to build another storey.  I guess I need a second inspection.  You all would have laughed at me when I inspected with full protective gear on!  I thought I'd skip on splitting this year to give them the best chance to build up. One boon is that they often go to different plants from the larger bees, and when the gourd flowers weren't opening early would crawl through the petals.  Leigh, yes, there is one queen.  I think I saw something larger once outside which could have been a drone?  Country Heart, you'd notice at the entrance to Shane's hive all the guard bees right round the circle.  They tend to retreat inside a bit at night when it's cooler.  JP, I heard about someone who puts a tap in their hives to extract the honey, but I don't know how that works.  Crush and strain would be the usual way I guess and then make a digeridoo so you can use the wax on the mouthpiece.  Wonga, the dogs play Bob The Frog.  Anyway, it beats having a frog jump on your face when you have been asleep.  It is like being hit with cold green slime.  Then there's the loo-dwellers...  Anyway, here's a map showing where North Queensland is, although it says Northern on the map.  It is south of Far North Queensland.

oops I forgot to include the link, sorry  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Queensland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Queensland)

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on June 02, 2012, 11:36:12 pm
(http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8638/bivouac1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/3/bivouac1.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
The hive.

(http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9158/bivouac6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/404/bivouac6.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Stingless bees on a honey flow.

(http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7999/bivouac3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/85/bivouac3.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Notice the one at the front doing the house cleaning.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on June 02, 2012, 11:37:47 pm
Can someone please identify which species the above are?

Thanks,

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: hardwood on June 02, 2012, 11:53:45 pm
Beautiful pics Lone, I'm jealous!

Scott
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: bernsad on June 03, 2012, 04:42:34 am
Lone,
Is that three boxes on one hive or three seperate hives all stacked up?
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on June 03, 2012, 05:11:57 am
 It's the same hive.  One level has pollen, one brood, one honey. There are a few holes in the ply between levels.

Scott, have you looked round Florida to see if it's possible to get stingless bees there?

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: weedyau on June 03, 2012, 07:42:59 am
A picture of the brood structure would help an ID. Could be Trigona hockingsi up your way. 
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Wonga on June 13, 2012, 09:55:43 am
Hey Lone,

I bought some sugarbag honey on the weekend - honey from stingless native bees. I got it in Warialda, NSW, but it comes from Highvale Qld. -"from the forests of North Qld." It was a fluke that I found it, last jar, and label damaged, - and don't know how it ended up in Warialda, although "Warialda" is supposed to mean "place of wild honey '' in local language, and they do have a Honey Festival every Spring, although there doesn't appear to be many beekeepers in the area. It has instructions on the jar to keep refrigerated. Pretty good honey, a bit thin and sort of runny, but tastes fine - a medium to dark colour. The aroma reminds me of leatherwood honey.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on June 25, 2012, 12:04:02 am
Shane,

Where on Earth (QLD specifically)...do you get hold of thick untreated wood?  I looked around the closest city the other day and everything over 19mm has been treated, except for one expensive rough sawn stick of pine, 25mm, 2.4m for near $100.
You can get 19mm pine easily, so I might have to just use that, or double it up.  Apparently there are a couple of rubbish tips that might sell wood, but it would be risky as it can be hard to tell if it's been "immunized".  It is an issue for making langstroth hives too, and I've decided the easiest way is to buy them.

Wonga, I've only had a taste of the honey, but it was nice.  I bet your jar won't last long, and you'll have to find some bush hives to rob. 

Lone

Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: squidink on July 23, 2012, 04:15:56 am
A month on how are they going Lone?
I'm in the process of getting a colony, as I'm in the south I will be setting them up in a thermostatically controlled box it will be in interesting experiment, a bloke in Victoria has done it with reasonable success.

Ben
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on July 24, 2012, 11:00:20 am
Hi Lone, sorry for the late reply. I have been busy with my job which is important because without money I cannot afford my hobbies :(

I used cypress pine for the boxes I built for my stingless bees. I purchased it from this place just up the road from me: http://www.cypresssupplies.com.au/ (http://www.cypresssupplies.com.au/)

Shane

Shane,

Where on Earth (QLD specifically)...do you get hold of thick untreated wood?  I looked around the closest city the other day and everything over 19mm has been treated, except for one expensive rough sawn stick of pine, 25mm, 2.4m for near $100.
You can get 19mm pine easily, so I might have to just use that, or double it up.  Apparently there are a couple of rubbish tips that might sell wood, but it would be risky as it can be hard to tell if it's been "immunized".  It is an issue for making langstroth hives too, and I've decided the easiest way is to buy them.

Wonga, I've only had a taste of the honey, but it was nice.  I bet your jar won't last long, and you'll have to find some bush hives to rob. 

Lone


Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on July 29, 2012, 05:18:05 am
Quote
A month on how are they going Lone?
I'm in the process of getting a colony, as I'm in the south I will be setting them up in a thermostatically controlled box it will be in interesting experiment, a bloke in Victoria has done it with reasonable success.

Ben

Hello Ben,

I've actually had them for about 6 months.  I am still pretty ignorant about them.  The books are not available from the aussie bee website.  I was advised not to disturb them too much, but perhaps I should be checking more frequently.  Last time, there was a good amount of honey, pollen and brood.  Today was the first time I've had a chance to inspect lately, and I got a shock.  There are only a couple of balls of honey in the top box.  I'm afraid they will starve.  It's packed full of brood and lots of pollen also.  I'm wondering if they have gone brood mad but are not bringing in enough nectar to feed everyone.  The weather has been unusually cold for the area, and amazing amounts of rain for the dry season.  We've had whole weeks where it hasn't stopped raining, right when the trees have been fully blooming in the creek.  In a panic I phoned the man who sold them to me.  He has similar problems.  He suggested I could feed them honey from the european bees...he hasn't tried this but he's seen the stingless ones robbing honey when he's opened his other hives.  And maybe I should take them to town for a while.  I put in a small dish of honey covered with cloth.  Does anyone know if this will work?

Ben, I'm surprised you can keep them down south.  Please show us your set up and let us know the progress.  Would they have problems foraging in winter?  Will you have a log or box hive?

 
Quote
A picture of the brood structure would help an ID. Could be Trigona hockingsi up your way. 

Hello Weedy, that is meant to be the local bee, but the bloke who sold me mine had a couple of varieties and when I took them I realised he didn't know the species.  But I'm thinking they are correct ones for here.  Anyway, I took photos today so when I load them I'm hoping you will help ID them.

Shane, that looks like nice wood and a good service for you.  We have no sawmills here of course.  The closest logging is probably the sandalwood out west which they crush down.  With the state of honey in the hive I'm not sure if I will be able to split this year in any case.  There is just a little time before things should warm up for the poor little things, so it might look better in spring.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: squidink on July 29, 2012, 07:00:15 am
Thanks for the update Lone!

It will be an interesting project keeping them in Melbourne, it's been done before with good success in Geelong about 2 hours from Melbourne. They will be able to forage for 10 months of the year and I'm prepared to go to serious lengths to look after them. I keep reptiles so my theory is I shall keep them in a thermostatically controlled environment. Their home will be warm and i will supplement their stores when it's too cold for them to forage.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: bernsad on July 29, 2012, 07:17:30 am
How are you acquiring them or getting them down here squidink? I'm in Melbourne also, just curious.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on July 29, 2012, 07:42:24 am
Quote
i will supplement their stores when it's too cold for them to forage.

How do you supplement their stores?

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: squidink on July 29, 2012, 08:31:56 am
How are you acquiring them or getting them down here squidink? I'm in Melbourne also, just curious.

I have looked into that Zabel will freight them down via a courier service.

Lone,  i will feed them radiated pollen as well as a molasses and honey mix.

In theory this should all work well but I guess it's just a theory! I will begin operation stingless in October!

Ben
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: bernsad on July 29, 2012, 09:33:56 am
Lone,

Those books are available on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Native-Bees-Australia-Series-All-10-booklets-/190660486829?pt=AU_Non_Fiction_Books_2&hash=item2c644026ad (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Native-Bees-Australia-Series-All-10-booklets-/190660486829?pt=AU_Non_Fiction_Books_2&hash=item2c644026ad) if you want them. They are a bit more expensive than the Aussie Bee site but if you are keen to get them. That's not me on ebay btw.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on July 29, 2012, 10:32:50 am
Thank you, Berny, I just ordered them. 

Ben, I obviously don't need to feed pollen, but why do you mix honey and molasses, and in what quantity?  Will I know more when I receive the booklets?  Is there a good method to feed them?

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: bernsad on July 30, 2012, 09:30:02 am
You're welcome.  :)
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on August 05, 2012, 01:23:33 am
I received the booklets and haven't had a chance to read through them all yet.  I did see it recommends not feeding, but if you do you can use mellifera honey. It doesn't say anything about adding molasses. It had a couple of suggestions on how to feed, but when I checked today the bowl I left was empty with a few extra honey pots on the roof, and no bee carcasses tangled in the cloth, so I think I'll stick with this until things warm up a bit.  The booklets did mention about cold affecting them, and especially the hockingsi can have problems.  It has been a cold winter for this area and sometimes I don't see them out of the hive till 9am or so.  Feeding can encourage pests such as the phorid fly apparently.  I have seen a little fly outside, about the size of a fruit fly, so it could be the one, but I didn't notice any maggots or pests inside.

Anyway, the numbers are good so me and the bees are holding out till Spring arrives.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on August 08, 2012, 09:17:11 am
The brood.  I think this confirms I have Trigona hockingsi.

(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3789/stinglessbees12.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/210/stinglessbees12.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

The pollen

(http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/5645/stinglessbees25.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/845/stinglessbees25.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

The honeybags...or lack of them.

(http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/6766/stinglessbees10.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/576/stinglessbees10.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)


Shane- I met a local native beeman today.  He reckons the hockingsi come from the north areas where the cadagi grows and aren't affected by it...hopefully! 
I noticed on the sugarbag website that there was a stingless bee workshop in Burpengary on the 4th of August..did you manage to get to that?  1000km to travel but those workshops are tempting haha

Lone

Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ShaneJ on August 08, 2012, 09:58:55 am
I didn't even know about the workshop :? so no I didn't make it :(

Wish they had a mailing list to get notified.  :-\
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: squidink on August 08, 2012, 06:11:53 pm
The hive and inhabintants look great Lone!
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on August 09, 2012, 01:21:58 am
I hope so, Ben.  I might have to give them another year or so to build up before I think about splitting.

Shane, I only just saw it or I would have let you know before it was on, not after.   :-P  There are plenty coming up round brissy way.  You might have to check there every so often.  http://www.sugarbag.net/learn-more/ (http://www.sugarbag.net/learn-more/)  I just joined on the yahoo email group it lists on that page.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Jim134 on August 26, 2012, 07:04:43 am
Please keep us informed of all you learn...I'm fascinated! Are they susceptible to mites/SHB?

Scott 
Keeping out SHB

http://www.aussiebee.com.au/video-wade-1.html (http://www.aussiebee.com.au/video-wade-1.html)



     BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on August 26, 2012, 08:16:02 am
Thanks Jim.  I see you make mesh with a 3/32 drill.  I hope it works for hockingsi too as they are very slightly bigger.  It will be handy to know if I am able to split my hive.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ozebee on December 14, 2012, 05:34:26 am
I envy you guys up in Qld!!!  I have had a stingless colony in my wall cavity in Sydney for some 4 years when they managed to find a tiny hole in the wall where I had to remove normal honey bees a couple of years before. I have been trying to split them by redirecting their entrance through an empty hive as recommended in the literature for some 18 months now but no joy. They are not building anything in the new box just plugging it up with lovely smelling red resin (which I imagine is their version of propolis). I suspect that it is probably the climate which is not helping in their expansion. I would be grateful for any suggestions how I can entice them to build a second colony in the new box.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: chriso38 on December 15, 2012, 01:27:22 am
Hi, i live in Central QLD, got my natives from a hollow log, had them for 8+ months with no hive beetle. Hive beetle is not attracted to the smell of the native hives ( unless u add stuff like pollen patties) or European bee honey. I have European hives as well in the same yard, Beetle is a issue at times for the European bees, but i have not seen yet a beetle in the native box.... Cut it from the log with honey flying everywhere, placed everything in the box etc.. But no beetle.. Go figure..? 
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on December 16, 2012, 06:11:40 am
Quote
I envy you guys up in Qld!!!  I have had a stingless colony in my wall cavity in Sydney for some 4 years when they managed to find a tiny hole in the wall where I had to remove normal honey bees a couple of years before. I have been trying to split them by redirecting their entrance through an empty hive as recommended in the literature for some 18 months now but no joy. They are not building anything in the new box just plugging it up with lovely smelling red resin (which I imagine is their version of propolis). I suspect that it is probably the climate which is not helping in their expansion. I would be grateful for any suggestions how I can entice them to build a second colony in the new box.

Oz,

My hive will have to wait a long time before it is ready to split.  I occasionally turn the divider upside down so there will be brood in 2 boxes, but this hasn't yet encouraged the queen to lay in both.  And they completely sealed up the top honey box.  They have been putting honey down the bottom with the pollen.  They have been wild the last couple of days with a single white barked gum tree out on the scalded flat.  I don't know what species of gum it is.

So even though they are building up slowly, I certainly don't know anything fancy like how to split hives.  Try joining the email group listed halfway down this page. http://www.sugarbag.net/learn-more/ (http://www.sugarbag.net/learn-more/)  You will probably get dozens of answers to your query as well as finding out things you didn't even know you wanted to know.

Chriso, I've heard stingless bees can succumb to SHB, but like with european bees, a weak colony is more susceptible.  I've not seen a beetle in my hive either.

Lone




Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: rawfind on December 22, 2012, 10:28:54 pm
Those sting less bees,
                              what do they look like? today i9 observed a heap of little miniature bees black in color and a about half the size of a normal bee. The looked like bees just smaller, are these possibly sting less bees?
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on December 30, 2012, 06:41:26 am
Quote
Those sting less bees,
                              what do they look like? today i9 observed a heap of little miniature bees black in color and a about half the size of a normal bee. The looked like bees just smaller, are these possibly sting less bees?

I know my pictures aren't real clear.  Have a look here http://www.aussiebee.com.au/trigona_carbonaria.html (http://www.aussiebee.com.au/trigona_carbonaria.html)

By the way, there's a real pretty "new" bee on that website, with a yellow stripe. http://www.aussiebee.com.au/stingless-bees-cincta.html (http://www.aussiebee.com.au/stingless-bees-cincta.html)

It would be unusual to find stingless bees in Victoria.  You really need to observe those bees again with a camera and show us!
I'm in Vic at the moment, but I only have to suffer a couple more days.  I'm sorry I couldn't visit you Geoff.  I've been flat out every day.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Vance G on December 30, 2012, 04:33:40 pm
Where are the bees?  I like all the American folks here are very interested.  Please feel free to fascinate us!  Vance
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Geoff on December 31, 2012, 09:48:15 pm
What day do you leave for home Lone? Would have come to Melbourne if I had known you were down this way. Marg said you can stay longer as she would lend you some winter gear. Will post a PM.
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 17, 2013, 09:55:54 am
Sorry Geoff, I already had to borrow a car to get to Bendigo and Whittlesea, and then ran right out of time.  Then of course there was a day dedicated to lining in a queue with half of Melbourne to see a flower.  If you fancy a QLD holiday though, we now have air con in the other house because my parents refused to come here without it.

Vance, stingless bees in Australia are in the northern warmer areas.

Mini update.  Top box sealed off except for a tiny hole that fits one bee through, and nothing in top bar some guards perhaps making sure all is well. Second from top..actually and finally has some honey!  I got to taste it even and it is lovely; different to what I tasted in Cardwell. It is not full, but more sugar bags than I've seen before.  Third box down full of brood and bottom box has brood also with pollen stores and maybe honey around the edge!  So finally after attempting my own manipulations they have decided to do things their own way and are finally building up strength. The hive is only a year old.

Lone
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Geoff on January 17, 2013, 04:10:27 pm
   You've slipped up badly Lone. There was a driver and car available to get to Whittlesea and Bendigo and the driver only needs half an excuse to go to Bendigo. The lemon scented pink flowering gum was in full bloom just buzzing (you could hear the buzz from inside the house) and you could have identified the stingless ones for me which were feeding on the astromelias.

  Dont forget the Fiddlehead Festival at Yinnar (Feb 16th.) Free pick-up at Tullamarine and bed and breaky at Yinnar ( for beekeepers only).

        http://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/Whats_On/Events/Events_Calendar/Events_Calendar/Fiddlehead_Festival (http://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/Whats_On/Events/Events_Calendar/Events_Calendar/Fiddlehead_Festival)
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: ozebee on January 17, 2013, 09:56:34 pm
Some pics of my stingless bees swarming may be of interest - they seem to do it for hours at a time very close to the hive
and then go back in. Sometimes there is evidence of fighting with many dead bees. I still have not managed to get them to build a second colony in the box I provided them - I think they are too happy in the wall cavity with all the honey store in there from a previous honey bee swarm that was there!

(http://s8.postimage.org/9j0n6wp0h/2012_01_10_09_09_41.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/9j0n6wp0h/)

(http://s13.postimage.org/6ci88u6b7/2012_01_10_18_16_01.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/6ci88u6b7/)
Title: Re: I got my stingless bees. Now what do I do?
Post by: Lone on January 19, 2013, 03:54:09 am
That's a lot of bees!

Great pictures thanks Ozebee

Lone