Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi KudaPucat,

Got any piccies of your apiarian setup?



Is there a guideline for how much bee forage you need? You know, the apiarist equivalent of the GB:tank-volume:fish-kg AP ratios.

MMMMM hoo humm buzzzz

Bees are absolutly facinating little creatures and there are some great books about them and their importance there is a facinating book going to press shortly about the little industrious insects. Should be out in the new year

Some light reading http://www.honeybee.org.au/ or for the gadget minded http://directory.ourbrisbane.com/direct ... plies.html

It is quite amusing to note how much we are all dependant on bees across the world and their current decline while others on this site will worry about polotics and the like. There is a lot on the net about bees of intrest

My old man has just started keeping bees. Personally I have no experience, however I have heard much as he researched it. He only has 4 months experience, so I don't know if we have enough food, but we have native bush, and fruit orchards, and next door is a cut flower farm. so here's hoping they eat well

i've helped mum and dad with their 2 hives so i think handling my own won't stress the brain vein too much.
there's a apiary shop in maddington which is really close to me (thornlie) so i'll start there i guess.
on the topic of food, i we lived in north qld and have never had to provide extra food for them, the bee's would go for miles searching.it's really amazing when you think about the scale of their operation. a 1km flight for a bee is like a trip from australia to the UK, under their own power, and they do it so efficiently that they return with more food then they used to get there and back.
with WA's wild flowers and my gardens i have no fears about enough food for them.
also, on the topic of bee's declining i'm a little conflicted on this. on the one side you have various "authorities" claiming we are all going to die because bee's are leaving, but this year has been a record year for bee keepers http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/conten ... 866671.htm. UK counter parts are experiencing the same thing.

bee's are critical though, no fruit without them, no seeds either.

Did you know that there are many states in America that no longer have bees?
They appear to have not been able to return to their hives. What happens when/if we no longer have bees?
We really take for granted the great work they do.
There is some thought that it may be due to Genetically Modified crops.
At present there is a moratorium to keep gm crops out of WA but that ends in 2008. Some people say we need them, this is the answer to all our problems. How can we afford not to do it? It will be great!

I say how can we afford to take the risk?
After all DDT was the answer to everything,wasn't it?
Asbestos is a great product!

That's an uplifting thought given the announcement today that both Vic & NSW will lift the ban on GM Canola and other crops at the end of the moratorium period next year......

There is discussion on another thread concerning bees and the devasting disease sweeping through the US and other countries and apparantly now also here in Austalia.....

You are a wise old ent Tree Beard.... but such small things as bees and the other building blocks of life don't go un-noticed or un-recognised by many here at the forum gathering...... just perhaps more current events may have submerged their postings.....

Asbestos still is, just gotta handle with care. Still makes the best fireproof suits around.

DDT was also a very effective control agent for malaria. millions have died from malaria because western conservationists were afraid of thin egg shells that DDT was causing.
as for GM crops, caution is definitely wise, but in all fairness GM crops have been THE most tested food crop in history. Anyway, i think there is always an element of risk involved in progress.
I think it's far more likely that the bees in america are disappearing due to something localized that they are doing such as chemical sprays.

There seems to be several factors at work that affect bees.....

Radiation from mobile phone towers seems to affect their ability to return to the hives....

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... 9445#59445

And the root cause of CCD (colony collapse disorder) would seem to be the Vallaro mite ....

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... 9336#59336

The whole thread above is devoted to "BEES" and is very worthwhile reading.

On that note, it would seem that lately many threads are being created that duplicate existing threads and information.

Could I suggest that people seriously utilise the search function and/or read previous threads/posts before duplicating the same discussions else where. Thnaks

I am looking at bees using Zia "company name" bees. They are survivor bees and quite tolerant. I will wait another year to make sure they got hives and no destructed but if so I will be getting them.

Hi Rupert

It is true thre are many thing to distract us.

The world bee summit was recently held and in many areas the decline of the bees is of great concern to us all . As with all scare mungering is was put forward that with the passing of bees globally we would be devistated with in 4 years. Mind you with the non reproducing GM crops their job function does seem a little extinct...shall I say .

In fact it is also interesting discovering the billions of dollars laundered through the honey industry and its global importance to economies which I am afraid most of us would not credit as we just dont appreciate what an important insect the bee is . Even honey tampering (adding sugar) is becoming prevelant in asia to stretch products and increase margins .

So what does this mean??? support the little Apairist, buy locally support you local hive or do it your self. I have not had a go at it yet but I think I will invite our local aparist to keep a hive on my property and companion plant accordingly.

I've got the "classic" hive in a hollow tree at the bottom of my block (escaped Euro bees), we also have different Native bees visiting the different plants we have scatered around the block..great to see

We do have differing kinds of wasps as well, European wasps get a dusting of Carboral (sp) via the local council - all others are native (as far as I know) and get left alone

I for one appreciate the work bees do, without them there is no seed, barley is a seed, no barley = no beer, No Maise = No Burbon etc.

We don't consume much honey but what we do we buy local or at least produced in Aus. ( currently waiting for a Tassie leatherwood Honey beer to finish carbonating)

We also have the bees on Kangaroo Island in South Australia (look it up ) I'd hate to have that population being desimated.

H.

there was a decent discussion about bees once before, if one of the moderators or diligent members could find it for me i would like to merge it

sorry Steve, I don't know what you are talking about?

As above ..... here ....

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... php?t=1662