I didn’t expect to be talking about queens and princesses with a small group of mostly strangers on a sunny Sunday morning in the carpark of the Men’s Shed in Thirroul.
But luckily for me, stingless beekeeper Brian Manahan was about to split the Shed’s hive and Christie Peters, founder of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Branch of the Australian Native Bee Association, had invited me along to watch.
It’s not every day that you get to see inside a native stingless bee hive and I wasn’t going to say no to the opportunity.
Interest in stingless bee keeping has exploded over the past few years. While it can get quite cold here and sugar bag bees thrive in warmer climates, you do see successful hives – both naturally occurring in tree hollows, for example, and in people’s gardens as pets – down to around the Shoalhaven.
As one of the only people in attendance without my own hive, I thought I’d be the one asking all the questions, but it turns out there’s nothing like having access to a really experienced keeper and the questions came thick and fast.
What do people do to keep their bees warm? Broccoli boxes, morning sun, insulating with melaleuca bark.
And to keep them cool? Hosing down the area, wet towels or pitched roofs and, if all else fails, bring them inside for those super hot days.
The best garden for happy bees? They’re generalists, so a mix of native and cottage gardens are fine and, as they travel short distances to forage, a flowery neighbourhood goes a long way in creating the right setting.
And, if you want to divide your hive, is splitting or eduction the way to go?
Now here is where my face with its ‘What on earth is eduction?' look gave away the fact that I didn’t have my own bees. And this is when Brian got to work. He was going to create (if all went well) two hives from the one already well established via splitting.
Splitting a hive is when you separate two sections of a full, healthy hive and couple each existing half with a new empty hive box. There are risks involved and the half that doesn’t hold the existing queen will need to requeen itself or the new hive will fail. The timing is also really important – Brian only splits hives during Spring to give the colonies a chance to reestablish themselves and build up their food stores before the cooler weather sets back in.
Eduction is done by forcing an existing colony to enter or exit through an empty box, usually through tubing, in the hope that a second colony will be established. This can take months to a couple of years to occur, especially down here in our cooler climes and that’s why splitting seems to be the local go-to for hive duplication.
Stingless bees are indeed stingless, but they do have jaws and can give a bit of a bite – however, Brian – who has kept bees for 20 years – didn’t let that faze him and went in sans protective gear. As he carefully pried apart the two bottom levels that contained the brood, bees took to the air. We all leaned in as the two halves were pulled apart, revealing the beautiful inner structure of the hive. We all jostled in for a closer look. No bites here, just lots and lots of lovely bees, on our faces, our clothes and in our hair.
The full bottom of the freshly separated hive was coupled with two empty top sections while the full top was paired with an empty bottom and, just like that, one hive had been split in half.
As I left the Men’s Shed, the rest of the keepers hung around, exchanging ideas, tips and tricks they’d picked up in their own beekeeping practice. A random bee flew out of my hair and back towards its hive mates. It was a lovely reminder of the importance of community groups. The ability to share knowledge with one another is incredibly valuable and inspiring.
If you’d like to see a hive splitting for yourself, Dr Tim Heard will be back at Thirroul Library on 25 October. This is a free event with a small donation at the door to cover room hire. The last talk sold out – secure your spot now so you don’t miss out!
