Bee Keeping

Our last season produced very liitle honey due to very little rain the previous season. The 2008-2009 wet delivered 28 inches of rain. Unfortunately the rain arrived after our peak flowering. The River Red Gums are in heavy bud, so hoping to have good nectar flows soon. The bees seem to be producing resonably well despite the lack of flowers about. They're obviously finding a mix of native flowers and garden plants to satisfy themselves with. I prefer to run the 3 supers on the hives during the warmer months then reduce down to 2 supers during winter. I find that by always leaving the hive with at least 1/2 a box of honey, there's no chance of me stressing the hive by over robbing. Having the 3 supers also gives them that extra room to deter them from swarming. We requeen our hives roughly every 18 months to 2 years or if they are getting a bit too hot headed and particularly aggressive. i have hepled peole who have had very aggressive hives, to requeen and they have noticed a major improvement in the temperament of their hives. They become more productive, less likely to swarm, thus numbers build up making a strong productive hive and they are a pleasure to work with being so much quieter.