Native Bee Keeping

Social, semi-social and stingless bees all play a hugely important role in the Australian ecosystem, pollinating our unique wildflowers and more. This Native Bee Keeping course is completed on one Saturday.

Learn about bee morphology, nesting biology, foraging behaviour, the importance of bees in natural systems, and the effectiveness of stingless bees as a pollinator of farms and gardens.

You will also learn about structured Natural Hive Duplication NHD, which is being adopted by stingless bee keepers for the propagation of hives. This approach to hive propagation is less destructive and aggressive on the bees than the hive splitting method. Also, it increases the number of hives you can propagate a year and reduces hive loss due to pests.

Stingless bee species Tetragonula Carbonaria is an excellent pollinator of the vegetable garden; however, they are preferential foragers/pollinators. During this course I will identify some of the crops where they excel.

Recent research is showing the health benefits of native bee honey and cerumen (propolis). We will discuss the three methods currently used in harvesting native bee honey and our approach to honey and cerumen collection.

The outcome of purchasing a hive should be an enjoyable experience. In selecting a hive to meet your needs, we will discuss hive designs, benefits, risks and pitfalls when purchasing a hive.

This workshop is delivered by Frank Adcock. He acquired his first Tetragonula Carbonaria native bee hive in 2001 as a trial to pollinate macadamias. This small start evolved into a business, Nashua Native Bees, which supplies hives to pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, home gardens and growers of avocados, blueberries and exotic fruits. In addition, he has delivered workshops to schools, Landcare groups as well as local colleges. Nashua Native Bees have developed a suite of hives to suit our area for pollination and the harvesting of native bee honey.

What to bring

• Your own refreshments

Important information

Once your enrolment is completed you will receive a confirmation email. This email will be your receipt and inform you of the dates, time and venue of your course, it will also let you know of anything you need to take to class with you.

Please make sure that you give us a valid email address and mobile number as any course changes will be communicated via sms or email.

Students are required to be 15 years old and above at the time of enrolment.

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We keep our class sizes small so that you get a better experience. Avoid disappointment, enrol early!