Zee's Bee'z - Southern Highlands

07/06/2024

Join our free Facebook group Buzzing Bee Basics - Beekeeping Help for Beginners: https://www.facebook.com/groups/buzzingbeebasics

02/06/2024

Hello fellow Beeks! I developed Hive Help to assist me on my beekeeping journey. The app logs inspections, predicts ideal weather for them, and uses AI for advice and photo analysis. Search Hive Help in the app and play stores. 🐝

12/01/2024

How I plan to use AI and bees to save the world.

15/11/2023

FULL STORY: 👉https://bit.ly/3JSpLPE

30/09/2023

Made use of an old hive that was a bit busted. I sanded it all back and painted it, some modifications, now it’s a honey hive for my customers to come and pick up honey and leave money in the cash box on the side!

29/09/2023

🍯 Hey Honey Patrons! 🐝

I've crafted a special lip balm: 50% honey wax cappings, 50% organic coconut oil.

Offer: I'm giving away 5 for FREE to my loyal customers. All I ask? Your honest feedback!

Interested? First-come, first-served. Drop me a message!

25/09/2023

Peaceful Honey Bee Swarm Capture

24/09/2023

Hi fellow bee lovers, I'm excited to introduce you to a special project I've been working on. Meet 'Beek', an AI born from my passion for beekeeping. Once buzzing amongst the flowers as a worker bee, Beek is now dedicated to helping us better understand and care for our buzzing friends. From beginner questions to more complex beekeeping scenarios, Beek uses its own bee experience to guide us, always highlighting the pros and cons to provide a well-rounded view. I hope you find Beek as helpful and enjoyable as I do in our shared journey of beekeeping. Come explore with us at www.HiveHelp.ai! 🐝🍯

Looking to start a beekeeping journey or seeking answers to your apiary queries? Discover HiveHelp.ai with Beek; an AI beekeeping specialist with genuine bee experience. From beginners to pro beekeepers, Beek guides you through the sweet and the sting of beekeeping. Ask questions, learn, and make yo...

23/09/2023

Swarm season has officially begun.

have put a kill order out on swarms because of an irrational fear that it will be swarms that spread the mite. The mite as we know has already been spread by migratory beekeepers and is considered endemic in nsw. I see no reason why someone need to kill swarms.

Many Beekeepers around Australia often re home swarms with kindness and love providing a service to local communities who may be impacted by the arrival of a swarm.

Swarming is considered very fortunate in most cultures. If you see a swarm make sure you contact a local beekeeper and they will house and relocate the colony.

Swarming is the natural ways bees re produce and evolve to defeat pests and is why we have genetic resistant bees overseas.

Bees live in a collective consciousness where in each bee feels the thoughts and actions of all other bees within the colony. Thus every bee in the hive knows the status of the hive’s health, production, and coherence.

Before bees swarm they gorge on honey. Bees are vulnerable and generally calm when they swarm.

Swarming involves the old queen and some of her sisters leaving their established hive to scout out a new location to create another hive.


A virgin queen is left behind and after she mates she will quickly rebuild the population of bees.

Make sure you contact a local beekeeperi and they will house and relocate the colony.

To find a local beekeeper

Try swarmpatrol.com

20/09/2023

Sad news for all Bees in Australia today.

Following today's announcement by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Australia's strategy towards the Varroa Mite has shifted from eradication to management, marking a significant change in our approach to this pest. The implications for beekeepers are substantial, necessitating a transformation from traditional beekeeping to a more conservation-focused role.

The complexities associated with treating Varroa, including the use of potentially harmful organic compounds, may deter hobbyist beekeepers, potentially leading to a decline in their numbers. It's important to note that up to 90% of bee colonies could fail within a few years of Varroa infestation.

Bees play an essential role in our ecosystem, including the pollination of many food crops. As such, it's critical that we all consider ways to foster healthier environments for bees. These might include:

- Planting bee-friendly flowers: Bees are attracted to certain types of flowers. Planting these in your garden can provide a vital food source for them.

- Avoiding pesticides: Many pesticides are harmful to bees. Try to avoid using these in your garden.

- Providing a water source: Bees need water just like any other creature. A shallow birdbath or a dish with some pebbles in it for them to land on can be a great help.

- Building bee hotels: Providing a safe place for bees to live can contribute to their conservation.

- Supporting local beekeepers: Buying local honey supports beekeepers and encourages the practice of beekeeping.

With these measures, we can all contribute to the conservation of bees and mitigate the impact of the Varroa Mite.

02/09/2023

Before you use w**d kill this Spring, please consider giving these guys in the video a call… w**d kill is extremely unsafe for our bees - who are already under extraordinary pressure and we risk facing food shortage and other challenges due to varroa mite.

26/08/2023

Sweet Gold in Winter: Honey extraction and it’s not even Spring yet!

20/08/2023

First day of Spring beekeeping in Colo Vale today as finally the weather and my schedule could match up. Looking forward to a great season ahead, as the girls seem to doing very well and all required supers already! P.s, lots of drones around which means swarm season will be upon us imminently. If you notice a swarm, please send me a message and I’ll do my best to collect them and find them a new home in my apiary.

24/02/2023

A beekeeper from Colo Vale asked me to move her beehive from her backyard to my Apiary because she was having strong reactions to bee stings, which made her uncomfortable and scared in her own backyard.

The good news is that the bees are doing well in their new home! In just a few weeks, they have filled their brood box with pollen, nectar, honey, and have a strong population. Check out the first photo!

They are also getting ready for winter by storing nectar in the additional brood box I provided, as seen in the second photo.

Beekeeping is not for everyone, and reactions to bee stings can change over time. Although bees are not aggressive, they can be defensive, and in this situation, it's best to move the hive to someone else who can take care of them. Leaving them unattended or attempting to care for them could jeopardize your health and safety.

Please note that due to restrictions related to Varroa, only registered commercial beekeepers should move beehives or colonies.

19/02/2023

The perfect way to learn about bees and have a lot of fun, is a hands-on Beekeeping experience!

10/02/2023

Dad and Amelia do their first Beehive inspection together. We learn about how baby Bees are born, and where they store their food (honey!). Watch here: https://youtu.be/CySI3qvQCfk

05/02/2023

Bee Calm - Relaxed / Meditative Bee Watching

Watch the bees come and go from the entrance of their hives, on a beautiful summers day.

26/01/2023

Watch as I install a Nuc received from another local beekeeper, which was full of burr comb!

07/01/2023

My apprentice started her training today. Amelia asked for a bee suit for Christmas, so she could work on the bees with her dad (me!). Amelia had so much fun, and just loved holding the bees and learning about them up close.

14/12/2022

Why aren't your bees filling the "Flow Hive" frames? Try this!

Try this tip to help encourage your bees to begin using your brand new "Flow Hive" frames. Flow Hive is an Aussie invention available at https://www.honeyflow.com.au/. I am not associated with the company behind Flow Hive. This is not an endorsement. I simply own a Flow Hive and wish to share my tips with all other beekeepers. Enjoy!

11/12/2022

In this episode I check in on two cast swarms to see if we now have mated queens, and conduct a routine inspection on a beehive. The girls get a little cranky toward the end.

29/11/2022

How-To: Install a Nucleus Hive (Bee Colony Nuc Box)

28/11/2022

Setting up a new Apiary in Colo Vale! Standard full depth 10-frame Langstroth hives being installed, with the first colonies arriving last night and moving from nuc box to hive this afternoon 🐝 🐝

19/11/2022

A second swarm caught this weekend. I wonder if there will be a third?

18/11/2022

How To: Catch A Honey Bee Swarm

Watch as I capture a honey bee swarm in another "How To" style of first-person video.

CAUTION: DO NOT try this without proper mentor training and full protective gear! As with all scenarios working with bees, you may be stung, and perhaps even fatally so.

30/10/2022

The early forager bee gets the best flowers and pollen. As soon as the sun hits the hive and begins to warm it, they head out on their quest.

The queen bee is also awake inside the hive getting started with her duties for the day. Although, depending on yesterdays progress, she may not have slept at all and instead opts to work through the night. She does after all, have the most important of all jobs - as the mother to all bees in the hive.

This colony pictured is the swarm I collected last weekend in Colo Vale. They appear to be settling well. This weekend I will inspect the hive.

29/10/2022

Bee watching. Meanwhile, some of my feathered friends watch me.

29/10/2022

29/10/2022

This lovely swarm relocated into my apiary in Colo Vale.

29/10/2022