Stingless Beekeeping

A nest or box of Australian stingless bees makes a great inclusion to your garden - whether you are a gardener, a small-crop grower or simply just a lover of Australian wildlife.

- they help pollinate your treasured plants.
- they give you a flavor of their special honey.
- They have interesting social behavior like commercial honey bees, but they are stingless and easier to take care of.
- additionally, they truly are "true blue" Australian bees.

Maintaining a Nest with its first Log

The safest method to keep a nest of stingless bees should leave it with its natural sign. Even yet in experienced fingers, about one third of nests can perish from the disruption to be transferred to a box.

If the nest is recently rescued from a dropped tree, it is most significant to secure up any breaks or slices in the log asap.

Stingless bees defend their nest against predator insects by sealing up all nest spaces, apart from the nest entry, with wax and resin. These defences could be damaged whenever nest section is removed from tree. A damaged nest can be severely assaulted by ants or other bees.

The stops of this wood should-be sealed with limits of timber or metal to help keep out rainfall and invading insects. If ants have been in the area, the nest is put on a stone standing in a shallow container of water and detergent before bees have actually completely repaired all injury to their nest construction. Any slices inside log should also be sealed with materials eg masking tape or commercial beeswax.

Maintaining a Nest in a Boxed Hive

In many parts of Australian Continent, stingless bees could be effectively held in boxed hives. However, hive bins offer less insulation than a log; so unique attention must certanly be compensated toward siting for the box - see below.

The containers employed for stingless bees are smaller than those employed for commercial honeybees (Apis). They also have an unique two-part design which allows the nest become propagated by an approach called splitting.

Smaller amounts of honey is harvested from boxed hives of stingless bees in hot parts of Australian Continent eg Queensland. (keep in mind that in colder areas particularly Sydney, stingless bees need all their supplies of honey to survive their dormant duration within the winter.) Bins with another compartment for the honey shops, making honey harvesting faster and safer, are available from some bee breeders, particularly Tim known.

Full facts about the designs of boxes for Australian stingless bees and detailed directions for boxing and splitting hives are available in the stingless bee publications available on this amazing site.

Where to website your Nest or package of Stingless Bees

The nest or package ought to be sited in a hot place within the yard, preferably with morning sun. The site should be sheltered from severe mid-day temperature and from cool winds. The bees require blossoms for pollen and nectar within about 100 metres of nest. They're going to happily make use of a wide variety of indigenous and introduced flowers. In hot places, a supply of liquid close to the nest normally desirable.

Don't forget that home and garden insecticides can kill bees. Take great attention not to let your nest's foraging bees are exposed to insecticides.

Flies and Beetles that'll Attack Stingless Bees

a poor or damaged nest or boxed hive is attacked by some particular predators: little black Phorid flies, bigger Syrphid flies which appear to be wasps with forked antennae, and South African Small Hive Beetles. These all like to put their eggs regarding the honey and pollen shops. However, just a weak nest would allow the grubs to grow to damaging amounts. Again you should help the bees seal up any spaces in their nest defences as quickly as possible.

Need to know more?

For lots more practical information and easy methods to keep stingless bees, browse the after bookets from local Bees of Australia show:

- Nests of Australian Stingless Bees

- Behaviour of Australian Stingless Bees

- just how to Recognise the various kinds of Australian Stingless Bees

- maintaining Australian Stingless Bees in a wood or container