Advice & Tips - Victorian Apiarists'Association (VAA)

Beekeeping Tips & Advice

Hoping to find a wider audience via this media we would like to publish important information and advice on beekeeping on our web page.

Remember to always make sure your bees have access to water at all sites.
If none is available you must supply it.
Bees use about one litre per hive per day in hot weather - so make sure they have enough.
Remember, it is a condition of your license to supply your bees with water.

Hive Management - Clean up sticky combs

In autumn, prior to the winter shut down, some beekeepers might be tempted to stand out their sticky combs for bees to clean up after their final extraction. Exposure of sticky combs to bees is an offence under the Livestock Disease Control Act, but apart from that it is poor management and shows little if no concern for your fellow beekeeper.

Exposure of sticky combs for clean up by robbing bees is certainly the easiest way to spread brood disease, and any cases of it detected should be reported to the apiary inspectors immediately. The apiary industry and DPI have spent many thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in time trying to reduce the amount of AFB in Victoria. That can all be undone by irresponsible standing out of sticky combs for robbing. The apiary branch is strong on this, and asks any instances of this practice reported without delay.

Hive Management - Brood Disease Inspection

It can't be stressed strongly enough, that if precautionary dosing of colonies for European Foulbrood (EFB) is part of your Autumn management, then look hard in the brood nest for signs of American Foulbrood (AFB). If the notifiable brood disease American Foulbrood is even suspected, don't treat the colony with antibiotics - eradicate it.

Final disease inspections should not be left until too late in autumn, because the bees will have the brood nest contracted, and any inspection then would be inconclusive.    

... more advice to follow here