Northern Branch Tasmanian Beekeepers Association in Launceston, Tasmania | Social club

Northern Branch Tasmanian Beekeepers Association

Locality: Launceston, Tasmania

Phone: +61 448 000 599

Address: Meet monthly at Lutheran Church Hall, Frankland Street 7260 Launceston, TAS, Australia

Website: https://www.tasmanianbeekeepers.org.au/

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• Non-profit organisation
• Community organisation
• Environmental conservation organisation
• Social club

24.01.2022 *** HIVE HOSTING OFFER Leigh lives on a suburban block of about a quarter of an acre in St Helens, with lots of flowering trees (many of them natives) and flowers. There is a permanent water supply. The area gets plenty of sun but also has a large tree for shade. He would be happy for the hive owner to assess the site and find the best location for the bees. Please reply to this post or message the branch if you'd like to take up this offer. Thanks, Leigh!

24.01.2022 Wow! What a fabulous day for one of the two practical sessions of our Introduction to Beekeeping Course! It certainly was one out of the (bee) box! We started the day with a Q&A session, followed by some videos on diseases and how to manage them by the legendary Doug Somerville. After a bit of a break, we lit some smokers, and then took part in an exercise session which was kindly led by new member, Mark. Thanks for stepping up, Mark! After a lunch break, we had a chance to l...ook at some boxes (wood and polystyrene) and a method for strapping boxes together, then suited up and wandered down to the apiary to meet the bees. Because of the amazingly good weather (warm and no wind), we were able to open quite a number of hives in order to learn more about how the bees organise their colonies. We found queens, drones, worker bees, eggs, larvae, and capped brood, honey stores, nectar, and pollen, as well as a few queen cells, and one or two pests. We also watched Bert split a couple of hives to start nucleus colonies. In the last session, we learned about various methods of honey extraction. Thanks to Bert, the two Malcolms, and Tammy for supporting the class through today's learning exercise, and to Malcolm, Ian, and Tammy for providing photos to upload to our page. I hope that everyone who attended had a great learning experience. aware, it's a very addictive hobby!!!

24.01.2022 Do you feel like doing a waggle dance It's a beautiful Friday morning where I am, and I think the bees will bee "out there" beeing productive and enjoying the weather today. I hope you are, too.

23.01.2022 With the expected rain one of our members had to get his apprentice bee keeper to urgently move hives last night as the river flats, where they were located was expected to flood.

23.01.2022 Thank you to new member and Introduction to Beekeeping Course participant Staci for sending along these photos from Sunday's practical session to share with our followers. Enjoy!

22.01.2022 Lovely day workin the bees

22.01.2022 *** HIVE HOSTING OFFER Sam and family have a lovely block in Gunns Plains, right in the forest, and backing onto the Dial Range. At some stage in the future they'd like to have their own hives, but in the meantime they're offering to host someone else's hives on their block. There are many blackwood, stringy bark, and white gum trees. Please reply to this post or message the branch if you'd like to take up this offer. Thanks, Sam and family!

22.01.2022 Our next course is now fully subscribed. Thank you to all those who have registered and paid to attend. We look forward to meeting you at the first class.

22.01.2022 UPDATE: This course is now fully booked. If you would like to add your name to the waiting list, please contact Bert. If a cancellation is advised, you may yet get to come along and learn all about the wonderful hobby of beekeeping! The Club is excited to announce the dates and times of our next Introduction to Beekeeping Course. The full course runs over four sessions. The dates are as follows: Wed 16 Sep 20206:15 pm for 6:30 pm start. 8:30 pm finish.... Sat 19 Sep 20208:45 am for 9:00 am start. 3:00 pm finish. Wed 23 Sep 20206:15 pm for 6:30 start. 8:30 pm finish. Sat 26 Sep 20208:45 am for 9:00 am start. 3:00 pm finish. The first three classes will be held at the Lutheran Church Hall in Frankland Street, Launceston, with the location of the fourth class to be advised. Course covers the theory and practice of beekeeping, including biosecurity and pest management, as well as building and waxing frames, and hands-on hive inspection with experienced beekeepers. Cost includes 12 months' membership and comprehensive course book. $190 per person, with one additional family member at $20 extra (no book). A COVID-19 plan is in place. Please bring your own lunch, drinks, and cup/mug. Boiling water and microwave available on site. Places are limited and interest is keen so secure your booking now by contacting Bert before 11 Sep 2020. Email: [email protected] Phone: 0408 082 691 / 6393 6443 (after 7:30 pm) Members please share this post.

22.01.2022 Bees trying to rob honey supers on the truck.

21.01.2022 Today, I have two videos about apiary/hive location. This one is from the US (so ignore the bit about bears!) and gives us seven essential factors to consider when selecting a site. This might be a handy list for newer beeks.

21.01.2022 Tammy Jones, here. Today, some of my bees have a new home. This has been a huge thing for me. I've only ever put Langstroth frames and hive boxes together (thanks, Bert!) before building a Layens swarm trap. Now this! I've had to learn to use lots of equipment to complete this build. There was so much to research and learn. And I'm so fussy, needing to get everything "just so!" However, I'm really very pleased with my accomplishment. I hope the bees are as happy as I am.... This build is based on Dr Leo Sharashkin's wool-insulated Layens hive from horizontalhive.com. First, I built 20-plus frames, then I built the hive. I added a gabled roof (not to Dr Leo's plans). My husband welded a hive stand for me and dug it in (Happy Valentine's Day to me!). My daughter, Hayley, helped me move the hive into location and add the frames of bees from their swarm trap/nucleus hive, this morning. Everything seems to have settled down now and bees are coming and going, just as they should be. They'll be very happy with the additional space, I think! I'm happy to answer questions, if you have any.

19.01.2022 Did you know ...? Glyphosatea popular herbicidehas been shown to negatively impact the gut microbiota of honey bees. Many of Tasmania’s local councils use herbicides, like glyphosate, as part of their weed reduction strategy. ... Some councils also maintain a No Spray Register. Once a property is registered, the street frontage of that property should not be sprayed with herbicides by the council or its contractors. As one example, this Launceston City Council site page describes the spraying of glyphosate within council boundaries and provides the number to contact to be added to the register. If you would like to register, please contact your local council. Maybe it’s worth having a word to sympathetically minded neighbours about doing the same.

18.01.2022 We had the NBTBA Christmas dinner at the country club casino.

18.01.2022 Taking honey off.

17.01.2022 Those of you who've been enquiring about our next Introduction to Beekeeping Course can now do a waggle dance, because we've finalised the dates and details, which appear below. The full course runs over four sessions (i.e., four sessions equals one course), and the dates are as follows: Wed 10 Mar 20216:15 pm for 6:30 pm start. 8:30 pm finish.... Sat 13 Mar 20218:45 am for 9:00 am start. 3:00 pm finish. Wed 17 Mar 20216:15 pm for 6:30 start. 8:30 pm finish. Sat 20 Mar 20218:45 am for 9:00 am start. 3:00 pm finish. The first three classes will be held at the Lutheran Church Hall in Frankland Street, Launceston, with the location of the fourth class to be advised during the first class. This course covers the theory and practice of beekeeping, including biosecurity and pest management, as well as building and waxing frames, and hands-on hive inspection with experienced beekeepers. Cost includes 12 months' membership and comprehensive course book. Cost is $190 per person, with one additional family member able to participate for an additional $20 (no second book included). A COVID-19 plan will be in place. Please bring your own lunch, snacks, and cup/mug. Boiling water, tea, coffee and microwave available on site. Places are limited and interest is keen so book now by contacting Bert before 14 Feb 2021. Payment of the course fee will secure your place, so don't delay. Email: [email protected] Phone: 0408 082 691 / 6393 6443 (after 7:30 pm) Members please share this post.

17.01.2022 Machine learning and artificial intelligence are ing applied to the business of keeping in an effort to notify keepers of issues within hives early. are such a necessary part of the ecosystem that supports life on Earth that anything to help sustain their populations must surely a good thing. Australia wasn't mentioned among the countries involved in studies. I hope that was an oversight and that the technology is here, or will soon.

16.01.2022 As you'll have seen from two recently posted members' photos, beekeepers in Tasmania have experienced some unusually snowy conditions recently. And while these conditions appear extreme to us, beekeepers in some parts of the world manage much harsher conditions on an annual basis. Some of our members and page visitors might enjoy watching how Ian Deppler (of A Canadian Beekeepers Blog) overwinters 1,200-1,400 hives of honey bees indoors from November to April (55 months), ...pushing his hives to the limits. Watch Ian as he moves his hives into his winter shed, describes the systems he has in place to maintain and monitor the conditions in the shed, and then moves them back out into fields once temperatures get to what we have experienced recently. Outdoor temperatures in Ian's area drop to -40C in winter. That's coooooooold!!!! Brrrrrr... Let us know what you think of this video!

16.01.2022 More photos of the Leatherwood site working bee today

15.01.2022 Some times the weather isn't on your side, 16 splits today with laying cages queens dave produced. As a commercial bee keeper dave doesn't have the opportunity to wait for good weather.

14.01.2022 The sun hasn’t reached this hive, yet, but the girls are busy bringing in pollen and nectar, regardless.

13.01.2022 It’s a autiful day in northern Tasmania. Participants are advised that the practical session of our Introduction to Beekeeping course is going ahead today. Yay!!! Please at St Leonards for an 8:45 am start. Private message us if you did not make a note of the location (advised in class on Wednesday). ... You will need to wear clothing that covers your arms and legs, boots that cover your ankles (if you have some) or thick socks (preferably not black), and a cap with a peak. If you have a beekeeper’s veil or suit please bring it. Also bring your own lunch, and a mug/cup. We look forward to seeing you there!!!

13.01.2022 Flowering leatherwood tree on the west coast

13.01.2022 Hellyer river and leatherwood site today

12.01.2022 Today's introduction to bee keeping course.

12.01.2022 Wednesday night at the, introduction to bee keeping course, topics were. biosecurity, hive disease management to keep your bees healthy.

11.01.2022 Cleared branches off the road to the NBTBA leatherwood site on the west coast yesterday. Ready for gravel to be delivered today for the working bee tomorrow.

11.01.2022 The second video that I'm sharing this weekend on choosing an apiary site is an Australian one; part of a "how to" series about beekeeping. I hope that you find these videos informative and of interest.

11.01.2022 Bees flying well today

10.01.2022 Another member's hives after our recent snowfall. It was a beautiful day but just a little too cold for the bees to come out and enjoy the view.

10.01.2022 Bees working apple tree blossom

08.01.2022 Spraying plastic frames with bees wax so the bees will draw them out.

06.01.2022 Introduction to bee keeping course. Participants, the practical session is on Sunday 27th. Be there for an 8:45 start at St Leonards, as discussed on Wednesday. Sorry for the confusion.

05.01.2022 Also busy on the lavender.

04.01.2022 It’s not only the honey bees working the apple blossom!

04.01.2022 *** HIVE HOSTING OFFER Don and Marlene live on a property at White Hills with native and non-native hedges (some old and some new), including hawthorn and sloe berry. They also have lucerne and other grasses that flower through the warmer months. They don't know of any other hives in the area and are interested in hosting a hive or hives. Please reply to this post or message the branch if you'd like to follow up on this opportunity. Thanks Don and Marlene!

03.01.2022 Isn't this AMAZING

02.01.2022 Very successful working bee at the NBTBA leatherwood site Thanks to Don for the excavator and Dave for the tractor. Brett and I enjoyed driving the tractor. Thanks Mike for organising the gravel.