BeesOnline

Last Friday I drove to a wedding just north of Auckland, I stopped at one of my favourite cafes for lunch - BeesOnline just past Kumeu, out west. I love this place, it has the best food ( has won many awards), is situated above a wetlands area which has been planted back with all NZnatives, some great flax ( Phormium tenax ), to top it all off, there is a working hive in a glassed off area inside the cafe, a great place to park the kids while you eat your lunch ! The staff are super friendly, the whole place has a wonderful atmosphere .. but then I could be biased, it is all about bees and honey after all.

In the buildings behind the actual cafe, honey is brought in from their hives and other parts of NZ, this is put into very funky jars and sold in the shop along with many other honey - related items. I always spend too much money - who could resist manuka honey lollies, orange blossom honey and many other tempting articles ?? take a look at their website www.beesonline.co.nz .

Miropiko Pa

Not bees but still an interest of mine - this is a Maori pa site just down the road from where I live. Before European settlement in the 1860`s there were a number of pa or village sites along the Waikato River where the city of Hamilton now stands.The first photo shows what is left of the earthern embankments, the bottom one is the view across the river. I often go there and just sit and contemplate what it must have been like to live there in that time. I have a real interest in our local history so this bee blog will probably have afew extra bits and pieces on it from time to time.

Wild bees

This is what is left of a ferral bees nest in a willow tree in a park in Hamilton. An arborist friend said it had been much bigger and full of bees acouple of weeks ago, when I saw it yesterday there were no bees and some of the comb had fallen or been knocked off. It is in an area where few people could get to it, I couldn`t get any closer. There are so few ferral bees around now due to the varroa mite, I was hopeing this one was still viable, but there was no sign of life ..

Looking very `bee-person` like ..

Not sure what the shiny spot of my face is, anyhoo, it was a very hot sunny afternoon and the swimming pool looked very inviting. Both hives are situated right down the back of my friend`s garden, facing north and sheltered from the wind - extremely bee friendly

It is Monday afternoon here in the Antipodes, not sure why is says Sunday on the post - after all, we are the first country in the world to see the new day ..

Into their new home

Bees do really`pour` out of the box, they settled in very quickly and within days began drawing out the wax foundation - this is Matai

Boxing the bees

I have just discovered how to put photos on my blog - took awhile ..

Collecting the swarm from Miro in the cardboard box, high up the neighbours grapefruit tree, balancing on a wobbly ladder.

More room needed

After discussing the lack of room in both Miro and Matai with Peter, I decided to put another 3 /4 depth super with 8 frames each on both hives. The necter flow is still strong with the sunshine and alittle rain, the bees are flat -out, I couldn`t resist having a taste of the honey in Miro, absolutely delicious and so pure ..

It is Sunday evening in the Pacific and to make it extra special, we have been treated to the wonderful sight of the comet McNaught in the western sky, a new comet recently discovered by an Australian, we won`t see it again in our life time, a real visual symphony.

It was very handy having the deep salt water pool over the fence from the hives today, I jumped in fully clothed after struggling out of my sweaty bee suit, luckily Doug and Helen are away !

I buy my supers from Rainbow Honey, here in Hamilton. Chris and his wife Jenny have about 500 hives out in the countryside and Chris makes the woodware we all need. I picked up both boxes painted and the frames waxed ( the smell throughout the house this morning was delicious) and had a good chat about all things honey. Chris kindly said I could go out with them if I wished - yes please ! They have hives in a orange orchard north of Hamilton and I am looking forward to tasting that ..

How full are we ?

It is a beautiful Waikato day, warm and humid . After work this afternoon I decided to check on both Miro and Matai as I am worried the bees are running out of room ! I put 3/4 depth supers on each hive 3 weeks ago and with the weather we have been having, I am concerned about it becoming too congested, I don`t want another swarm.

After struggling ( does anyone else have the same problem of squirming into the bee suit ? ) into all the gear with gloves, gumboots and smoker in working condition, I walked quietly up to Miro, lots of bees outside and many flying in and out, both hives looking extremely busy. My smoker working ok, or so I thought, I carefully took the tin lid off Miro, then using my hive tool I prised the top cover off and slowly took one frame out - half is caped honey and the other half necter, all looking very good - maybe we will beable to extract some honey this year. Sadly the smoker decided to give up the ghost at this stage, the bees started to sound abit grumpy and I was persuaded to leave well alone ..

I think I will ring my beekeeper mentor, Pete, tonight and discuss whether to leave well alone or take another look on the weekend.

Another hot, humid summer day ...

I check my bee girls water supply every day at the moment, both hives, Miro and Matai ( for those of you who wonder what the heck those 2 names are about ... they are both Maori names of beautiful, tall, strong trees here in NZ) are very busy with alot of the bees hanging out on the front of each hive - its very humid, so instead of thousands of golden, fuzzy bodies heading to the large salt-water pool over the fence, I am making sure there is plenty of water available. Luckily, the old chap next door is happy to have the hives where they are, he grew up with his father keeping bees so didn`t raise an eyelid when Miro swarmed after a month !

There is still alot of necter happening, plus pollen, especially the bright orange of the dandelions ! I often sit beside the hives watching what goes on and in this weather the smell is so strong - honey and a mixture of lots of little bee bodies .

Hopefully we may beable to extract some honey soon ...

Bees in the Antipodes: First Sting ..

Bees in the Antipodes: First Sting ..

First Sting ..

I ignored the cardinal rule, thought I was smarter then the average you know what, thought I would just have a quick look in Miro without my suit and hat/veil on - yes, I paid the price well and truely with a sting on my top lip - I now have the pout any top model would die for, no need for botox for this gal !

We may provide them with a cosy home, but never forget - wild creatures they be ..