What a busy month members of the Rocky branch have had! Our meeting at Ian and Julie Bond’s house at Hidden Valley, Capricorn Coast, was very well attended. Sharing around the group during general business revealed all sorts of interests and raised many questions, with invaluable advice and experience willingly shared by those more experienced. We were happy to welcome members of other ANBA branches as well as some interested guests. Behind the scenes, Tony Madden invited some members to his home to observe a Tetragonula carbonaria hive split. It was so interesting to note the unique brood structure, but you had to be quick – Tony is an expert. He explained what was seen inside the hive at the front as the result of Cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana) seeds and resin [now considered an invasive weed locally], sourced by the bees from his neighbourhood. From Tony’s experience [as evidenced in the photo], these form a hard mass, reducing the storage area for pollen and honey, resulting in a smaller brood.
Treasurer Rob Peach and a work colleague successfully achieved their first hive split. Rob says that he ‘put into action the knowledge gained from the recent Rockhampton Native Bee Workshop run by Dr Tim Heard, and eve-rything went as planned.’ Many beginning na-tive bee keepers would identify with his de-scription of the experience as ‘quite a frantic occasion’ with the whole split taking less than two minutes!
Such a great roll up from Rocky branch members with 14+ volunteers (and their partners) sharing their knowledge & experience at last Sunday’s Livingstone Shire Council’s Urban Agriculture and Sustainability Expo on the Capricorn Coast. The management committee is most grateful for the commitment of both time and enthusiasm. Our new branded banners made it easy to find us. Working display hives of different genera, hive split demonstrations by Lloyd and our library resources’ display sustained interest throughout the day. Many visitors expressed a desire to learn more about protecting native bees, compatible plants and how to build and maintain hives.
From Marg Barry, Secretary / Treasurer, margbee4703@gmail.com
or Lloyd [email rockyyoungers@hotmail.com; mobile 0437727657].
https://www.facebook.com/rockhamptonanba
