Native Bee Rescue & Education Sunshine Coast

12/01/2025

Todays AA log transfer this one took 6 hours x 2 people to rebox. The numbers this one had were incredible.
Makes a massive difference in numbers of bees & amount of honey when logs don’t have Ant pressure.
It’s like a lotto win when you get them with no ants.
The biggest issue with logs by far are ants.

11/01/2025

A couple of photos from yesterdays workshop

02/01/2025

If you are on our hive waiting list & not received a call from us please let us know. We may of missed a couple due to extended waiting times due to last summer’s unprecedented rainfall.

09/12/2024

AA hive 24 hours after transfer. All the honey pots have been built & some even have honey they have collected from the stores left out for them to forage from.

08/12/2024

2nd AA log transfer today. First log had 2 broods & 2 queens. Both were vacuumed up by Nathan as the first was seen very shortly after opening the log on the drop sheet running away. The second was spotted shortly after (swapped vacuums) and vacuumed up as well.
The first was put into Nathans hive that was queenless & the second was retained & put in the box once all the brood was transferred. I could have made 2 hives out of this but both broods would not have been big enough on their own (with half the bees) to support a thriving hive. So both broods & one queen (& all the workers) were put into one box. With the other queen in a new hive that needed her. Win win for everyone involved

03/11/2024

Time lapse of a TC log. Vacuuming of native bees.
Thanks Nathan for the footage.

01/11/2024

Log hives have even more issues than boxed hives. In a log we have no idea of the size or health of a hive as we cannot see into the log. We can see what’s going on in boxed hives via view panels. If something does not look right then you can ask questions.
Ants love logs and trying to stop ants moving in is a losing battle. We can stop them getting into boxed hives. Many hives are lost from ants alone. Especially AAs.
Cracks in a log allow pests (as in this case) to invade & slime the hive. Box joins we keep taped to stop this happening.
Cavities is logs vary greatly & some only have enough room to have just over a golf ball size brood, others are huge cavities & the bees made the most of this size, then you get everything inbetween these 2 extremes.
You can never tell the size of the cavity from open ends as timber & mud are left behind by the original inhabitants the termites.
If you are thinking of buying a log hive or have a log hive then you need to be aware of these issues. This log was one of the last lot we bought this week & it was the first one opened to box as it was the most cracked.

29/10/2024

I’m in need of a bee vacuum person tomorrow. I’ve got 2 logs in desperate need of boxing as they are falling apart (bought them Monday) if anyone has a free day and would like to learn & help please let me know.

14/10/2024

A great group at our Marburg workshop yesterday! It was a wildly wobbly TH hive box that needed replacing. Here are some pics from the experience.

10/10/2024

See you all there

09/10/2024

Failed TH hive. It had requeened but it was much too late. Phorid attack when a hive is very low on numbers as they stress which the phorid zone in on. Stay tuned for egg hatch. The hive is closed off with tape.

06/10/2024

Are they blocking off the connecting tube or they are blocking it off.
This is a question I get every day now it’s eduction season. The bees make defensive tunnels both at the front door inside & in front of the connection.
These bees can chew trough 1/2 inch of no more gaps & 4 layers of gaff tape. A bit of propolis is not going to stop them.

04/10/2024

01/10/2024

Certificate of Inspection, passed easy again. The bonus of keeping her in tip top shape.