The Coffs Harbour branch met on Sunday 19th March at John’s property in Korora. We were able to enjoy the beauty of the location and explore the wide variety of trees and plants which had been planted by the previous owner, a botanist. John showed us his log hive which he rescued from near the creek on his property several years earlier.
He was fortunate enough to have the machinery to keep the log intact (it is a substantial size) and relocate it to a safe position. With the abundance of trees on his property John built a new hive from a log by cutting it in half, carving out a space on the inside (with a chainsaw) and hinging the 2 halves together. He has used this to set up an eduction from the existing log hive. During our meeting John opened the eduction hive to check on progress. While the bees have started building structures in the new hive, there was not any sign of brood. We look to forward to hearing of any progress next summer.
Monica gave us an update on news from the ANBA Management Committee, and we discussed possible locations for our next community hive placement. Congratulations to all our lucky door prize winners. Thank you to Judith for donating native bee propolis. Many thanks to John who donated some fresh fish which he had caught that morning.
Our next meeting will be held on Sunday the 21st of May at the Botanic Gardens. Keep an eye open for details on the events page on the ANBA website or our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/756068211719759
From Elaine Bean
For more info on branch activities, visit our Facebook page ANBA Coffs Harbour Native Bees, https://www.facebook.com/groups/756068211719759