SEASON REPORT OCTOBER 2025

Weather continues to be very windy and cool. Fortunately, some light rainfall has occurred. Just as many of the Canola crops were past their peak flowering, they were desperate for moisture. Faba Bean crops are still flowering and the perfume of the nectar is more pronounced this year. It seems according to the scale hives that the bees are losing weight, and I guess that the Faba Beans crops are too dry. Beekeeping can be a tricky business especially when you expect the bees to be doing well.

Rainfall in the Western District is half of a normal season and many farmers dams are very low.

Capeweed is definitely doing well, and the bees have plenty of yellow nectar in the frames. Capeweed is abundant after a dry autumn as the bare patches in the pastures allow the Capeweed to germinate.

Swarming is rampant at present and the weather has not helped. The bees have been breeding large amounts of brood resulting in very strong hives. Many of the swarms have been close to the ground, I think due to the strong winds. If you see the queen, I suggest it is best not to try and mark her until she commences laying brood. Queens that have been flying are very agile and slippery to catch and prone to flying.

Taking away a “split” of bees is the best way to stop swarming. Giving the bees foundation frames keeps them busy and makes room for the queen to continue laying. As the split grows with a new queen it can be sold, or united onto your weakest hives just before summer to greatly increase your honey production.

Last autumn was not good for bees in many areas and I have been told of hives that have died. I know starvation has been a very big problem. Colonies that were small in strength have struggled to survive. Many autumn queens I expect will be superseded due to the shortage of quality drones. A commercial beekeeper contacted me enquiring about purchasing Carniolan queens. The Italian queens he has been buying for northern states do not make honey during tough times as they breed to much and eat their stores.

Red Gum appears to be the next crop of honey. Hopefully everything goes to plan. When I was A boy my father had a very large Red Gum honey flow during a drought year. He ran out of tins to store the honey and Mum was horrified when he suggested filling the bath with honey. He must have found something else to store the honey.

News from the Almond farms. More plantings of new orchards is occurring which is amazing considering the shortage of bees this year. 12,000 beehives have been purchased by a South Australian Almond farm from Western Australia for their own pollination. It will be interesting to see how successful they are at keeping the bees alive. Prices paid for almond pollination are rumored to increase significantly next year. Despite beehive shortages a crop of almonds has been set. Unfortunately, some hives tested for Varroa at the Almonds had 140 mites per wash. These hives would certainly distributed varroa to other beekeepers hives.

Seed Conola pollination in the NSW Riverina has been reduced this season due to lack of irrigation water. Next season may not have any water to grow the crops.

When shifting bee hives it is best to fill up your vehicle prior to the trip. If the bees leak out while filling your vehicle the bees left behind become a problem to the general public. Some service stations in NSW had to close after large transports left swarms of bees behind.

So, far I have not found any Varroa mites in my hives. But I have been informed that a large load of bees are located at Barwon Downs on a late flowering Canola crop. It is movement of bees that will bring us the Varroa. I asked my friend in NSW if any race of bees was preforming better with the Varroa. No, it affects them all the same so far.

I see many people quoting varroa resistant bees. The best scientist beekeepers say it will take many years before we find bees with that ability.

The new Varroa treatment from USA has been approved in America and is a sugar-based DNA treatment that only targets the DNA of the Varroa. It stops the mother Varroa mite from being able to breed. It will not have residues or contaminate the combs.

John Edmonds12/10/2025