Splitting an Australian Native BeeHive to Make Two Hives
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ย. 2014
- This video shows an Australian stingless native beehive being split to make two hives. These Australian native bees are called Tetragonula carbonaria, but there are over 1500 different varieties of native bees and of course many more worldwide.
With the alarming decline in the honey bee it makes sense to grow and create more native bee hives and protect habitat because if the honey bee goes it will potentially leave a massive hole in how our food plants are fertilised.
These native bees are stingless so they are great to keep in the garden as they are safe around children and are fierce pollinators of local plants - it's a win win!
Feel free to comment below but if you really want to discuss these bees seriously than please join our forum: Here is one of our discussion threads www.selfsufficientculture.com/...
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These bees are beautiful, stingless, pollinating, honey producing, peaceful creatures. Wow 😁👍 we need to protect and nurture these wonderful creatures.
I've had a bit of experience with native stingless bees, but I've never seen a hive design quite like it. Splitting top to bottom I haven't seen before. The trend with the young ones seem to be split side to side. I might need to give this up down method a go.
Very interesting vertical process.
Good to see he is not using stainless steel.
It appears that one of the boxes was the wrong orientation (1st one). Native bees will more often put honey stores in the back behind the brood and pollen at the front near the door. So one of those hives got all the honey stores and one got all the pollen. The 2nd two seemed to be better orientated so that each half got half the supplies each along with half the brood.
Also to answer your question why it is darker, 2 things possibly older if this is his 1st hive. And colour of structure may vary depending on the sap they have drawn from different trees to make the structural support propolis/cerumen.
The colouring around the doorway is also more propolis (wax mixed with tree sap). And helps them 'smell' their way home.
I am surprised he doesn't move the split hive with the old doorway away as the one in the original position will get all the workers returning to it and overall there will be less bees left in the one that has been moved from original position.
'Now, it's important to use good quality duct tape'.
This man is truly wise. We should make that part of the national aussie curriculum.
Great work guys.
mayne42 Yeah it does come in handy for many tasks! Thanks :)
These were very interesting videos.
Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
thank you for a truly informative video. Great work to you and your uncle
Really interesting Mark. I picked up my hive last Sunday and was wondering what it looked like inside. Now I have an idea what it’s like, thanks. I’m in Mackay
Wow! Thanks for this video.
Interesting one Mark, I've been a beekeeper for years. Although I just shut down my hives because I am getting ready to move back the Philippines and starting up my farm. I also just started to think about getting stingless bees. Great information thanks mate. I could use all the information you could share.
That's great to hear Mika especially from someone as experienced as you in beekeeping - thank you! Best of luck starting up your new farm in the Philippines it sounds like a fantastic adventure. Cheers :)
Very interesting, I had no idea there were stingless bees. Especially in AUS where there’s all kinds of poisonous snakes and whatnot.
How many get squished when putting the tops back on?
Thanks for the video. Looking at splitting a friends hive to bring a hive home with me. This video will be very helpful. Thanks again.
Are those bees live in USA Ok
Hi there, is your uncle located at Brighton? We recently purchased a hive and after watching your video ours look to be very much the same construction, right down to the tie strap used.
Kevin S by any chance?
This was really informative. I wonder if these boxes are composite with polystyrene foam? You seem to be concerned about insulation, and they would be very heavy in solid timber? I can see your logic in having a vertical split, which is very smart. I've just cut down a disused 8 frame Langstroth hive, cut 150 mm in from the dovetail, on each long side, and it looks good. The two ends now butt together, and a fairly tight "telescopic" lid and base will hold both sides tightly together, if the rims extend about 50 mm up or down the sides.
Very invasive method, and the box model makes handling very difficult, in Brazil we use simple boxes that facilitate the handling, we should never break the breeding discs!
I respect your work, but I would make some changes in the way of handling.
Do you have any links to videos of the way you box break a hive in Brazil, would be interested to watch and learn
Jordan Ortt Just look up for INPA stingless bee hive for some videos in English or CAIXA INPA for many many videos in Portuguese. The principle we use here is "minimal-disturb handling", with boxes that are designed in a way that you can divide the nest without killing one single bee and without destroying any nest cell.
@@phanatixx thanks for the info. I am googling it now
God job ! Amazing Native Bees ! Congratulations from Meliponário da Paz (Brazil)
Very interesting - thanks for sharing!! Mark, I haven't seen a Honeybee in my yard among the clover in quite a few summers now - of course I am not out there all the time - but I can tell there is a definite decline for what there used to be. I see mostly Bumble Bees on my Hibiscus trees.
It sure is nice to have bees that don't sting. The gentleman really seems to know his stuff. Are they mainly for pollination? They don't seem to make as much honey as others that I have seen.
That was really interesting Mark! The first time I've seen your native bee was on Jeff Heriot channel, do you know Jeff, really nice guy :) Since I'm allergic to bee stings, I really like stingless bees lol
This was very interesting thank you for letting me learn.
MrsMika Hi and thank you for taking the time to give feedback - I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers :)
Just got stung by a honey bee...would really like some stingless bees right about now.
Thanks for the upload.
Hagen Steele You're welcome! Thank you for taking the time to say so. Cheers :)
Super interesting
Wearing earphones and the buzzing is sounding like they're all around me. It's making me want to brush them away.
This is a great idea recording it Mark so you can split them yourself in the future. I love your hive setup.
You have the environment and space for it and your garden would love having them around. This is the first time I have seen a clip on them, so I appreciate you sharing this this with us. No, I am not going to go out and get some to start one LOL but watching this clip, I just learned something new. Ta. :)
Thanks for sharing🥰🥰🥰
Thanks for sharing🥰🥰🥰
Cheers Mark. That was really interesting. Such a pity they don't produce lots of honey.
One of these days I'll build a top bar hive and look at catching a swarm of European bees. Need to get me a decent saw first though. I've never seen native beehives split vertically before and it makes perfect sense.
Mate Thank god for people like you, With out Bee's W'ed be Fucked, You've inspired me to start doing it, I might need your help along the way and will be posting questions and needing your advise, Cheers Mate Great thing your doing
Thanks for the video
Hello one hobby🤝
the white beehive squares what is the material sounds and looks lime blocks or white ceramic clay blocks???
This is how many peaple are great full for bees👇
Excellent and a method of splitting that works with the nest formation giving greater chance of success.
Thank you! Yes it works very well. The only mod that was done lately was to remove the steel lids on top of the hive as it was unnecessary and harboured geckos and spiders that sometimes fed on the bees. But apart from that modification, this way of splitting and this type of hive has been a great success. Cheers :)
I see the negative comment about someone doing it for 30 years and then you using a different method. Well so what works works and never forget the originator who established honey bee space and movable frames also faced an uphill battle. My Great Grandfather also decried movable frame hives. Love your method and a much easier splitting method that I will move to in future. Yes and lizards also live around my hives. Thanks again, Tom
Knows his stuff that fella.
Amazing! Does your uncle sell hives? Also has he ever written a book about this stuff?
would you mind sharing the inside measurements for those outside Australia. I'm in Costa Rica and interested in propergating our local bees. Thanks for the great video
I wonder why the bee industry isn't using stingless bees more. Does the honey taste any different? 🤔
Much better
Watched afew videos of people splitting te hive on the horizontal ... I like your way beter ... Makes more sense to make a hive with distribution of different age bees ...
Absolutely fascinating video!
I have heard of stingless bees but never knew they could be kept at all.
So very different from honey bees, the way they build their combs.
And they start building comb from the bottom up as apposed to the honey bee method of starting from the top down?
+Station Plaza I am from South Australia, but i think they build from the bottom to top, and usually thier wax is made from a resin mixture.
+Sam Vodo That's a good question guys (I've only just seen this post by Station Plaza - sorry for not replying earlier) but I actually think they start from the top then build down and then reuse the hatched cells from the top again. I might be completely wrong though... However, they do tend to anchor at the top of the hive from my observations - I'll do some research and find out for sure.
4:08 are all those black squish thing dead bees you have killed around the white boarder !!
Fascinating video, thanks.
First time I have seen vertical hive splitting - only seen horizontal before.
Amazing to see the hives in cross section and the advancing front.
Just wondering if the dimensions of these hives are available somewhere ?
***** Thanks Mark
Just the internal dimensions, since the external dimensions depends on the wood I use.
Sorry if that is a bit harder to get.
I think your uncle said they were square.
I will check out your forum too.
***** Excellent thanks for finding those dimensions.
Exactly what I wanted.
Much appreciated.
@@georgegibson707 Hi George, could you let me know the dimensions as well. Cheers
Hey there guy's any updates on the hives. Do you have them stacked right next to each other or on top.
Does Australia have the same problems with mites & the spiders invading our bees?
What material is the insulating batts made of.?? the ones just under the roof...Thanx...:)
Where can i buy some of these bees and boxes? Think they will survive in florida?
Is this vertical splitting your own design invention or you learn it from someone else if you can please mention what other benefits hey hi can have by vertical splitting thank you please answer me
How expensive compared to the dollar will cost 8 oz in Australia thank you
hi,just a question for your uncle
do these hives work for the other native bees with the nest that isn't flat ?
thanks
david john Sorry for taking so long to get back to you... Here's the response from my uncle: My internet is now working again after a week and a half out of order. I use this vertical splitting box for all of my different varieties. It works well with Hockinsi but not as well with Australis. Cheers :)
Self Sufficient Me that's ok,thanks for the reply
Very informative video Mark. My Aussie Native Stingless Bees arrived yesterday in the horizontal type box. Can you ask your uncle how (for when I do split next Spring) how I split it into the vertical type boxes which I will build myself. Thanks.
+Chas2Can Thank you! Yes I'm seeing my Uncle on Xmas day so I'll ask him then and give you an answer. If you haven't heard from me (by a few days after Chrissy) then please pop me a reminder. Cheers :)
+Chas2Can I spoke to my Uncle about transferring bees from a horizontal to a vertical hive and he seems to think a bridge between the two boxes is the best way. Full brood removal from the horizontal to a vertical box is possible but it can be risky and if too much honey is ruptured and spilt in the hive it may cause "hive drowning." I believe the bridge allows the bees to hopefully populate the vertical hive over time. Hope this helps :)
Thanks for the feedback, I will consider this when I need to make the call.
All the best.
Hii, i got a question for your uncle
do these split hives work without a queen in the new hive ?
and how did u get a new queen cell in the new hive if u did not locate the queen cell in the old hive?
If there's no queen, the bees will produce a new queen by themselves.
I don't think destroying so many cells in favor of different ages bees is a good option. Horizontal splitting like the one used by INPA boxes can be done without destroying any cell, and the new hive will be able to develop with good handling if you only give it just a good amount of mature cells.
Aren't they tiny bees ?? Do you get much honey from them Mark ?? Or are they just to help pollination ??
Your trailing a blaze you trendsetter !!!
They make about 2-4 KG of honey.
How did you start working with native bees? Do you keep the honey -which appeared a little thinner than full sized honey bees- as honey or do you process it into something else like mead?
Was uncle's face ever revealed once?
Seems really desturbing to the bees. Why do you use boxs like these and not the normal european bee style boxs?
G'day ol' mate, top video!!
I read most of the replies posted and the comment that nearly gave me a heart attack was one of your replies, lol. ".....we have enough from honey bees and anyway the honey isn't that great...". Isn't that great? Holy smoke!!! Mate I reckon it is the best tasting honey in the World! I've had the honour of tasting it in the wild, sugar bag, and also from domestic hives. Fair dinkum, I really love the stuff. But that's beside the point, lol.
Yes, I'm as jealous as all get out, lol.
Say g'day to your Uncle for me, he sounds like a good, knowledgable chap, you are very lucky. Don't worry about the amount of honey you get when you harvest, just enjoy it.
Cheers from an old fart in the Hunter Valley :)
Agreed with U.different taste.sweet+sour
Would these bees work in a cooler climate like the UK ?
Yeah that's a good question Nick they do live in cooler regions around Australia but not in our cold southern states so I guess not. They're typically a warm climate bee and don't have the honey storage capacity to survive a long cold winter.
You cut the hive in half? Why don't you just separate top from bottom like everyone else? Or follows the natural form of the brood and causes minimal damage
hi Mike thanks for this video. I wonder if they can be exported to Europe, south of France for example? Where can one buy these bees?
You will have your own native bees in France and Europe. Learn about them.
I would cut those star posts off at the bench height....so they arent always in the way....:)
Tell me how about honey bee same as Australian native bee? show me picture about it.
Thanks
+Dwain Loftin Hello, the honey bee is different to Australian native bee as you could see in the video the native bee is much smaller and all black without a stinger. Thanks :)
今天是世界蜜蜂日。20-5-2021. World bees day.大家要愛護蜜蜂。
Legal 👌
Indonesia🙋🇮🇩🐝
top information, should one of the hives be moved away for any !
+Việt Thắng Lường Thank you, if there's enough food/pollen around it's ok to keep native bee hives together like this and they will live along side just fine. If your aim is not breeding and instead using native bees for pollination only then I would suggest separating the hives around the garden for better access to crops. Cheers :)
Thanks You,
After the split, I need to do so they do not return to the old house?
Việt Thắng Lường No problem, You need to split in stages as shown in the video to give them time to adjust to the new box then totally separate. :)
Well, sorry because I can not hear, please summarize the process dividing help me.
Thanks again.
Việt Thắng Lường You keep the two hive together after splitting for a day (overnight) this gives the bees time to adjust smell of the new hive material. The next day, you separate the two split hives and remove the mesh from the entrance hole that was initially closed off. I hope this helps!
Have you ever tried splitting a hive through induction?
+Penfold8 Not me personally but the guy in the video does do it sometimes. Cheers :)
Bagaimana cara memanen madu dan beepolemnya.....?
Thanks for sharing the video. I'm interested about the hive you made that is different from others. Could you please send me the hive size by email? I'd like to make one by myself. Thank you very much~ ^^
Hi.
I too would like the measurement of the box, I know its a square, so double the the width of a standard box, but is the height different, Let me know. Cheers Rob
so... when is the honey harvest video going to be posted? *hint*
+Dela Sias Yes, that's a good question... I'll see if I can make it happen - I think it would be good to film. Thanks :)
A maneira mais errada que eu ja vi em fazer uma divisão de colméia. Sem cuidados e cortar os discos de cria no meio isso foi demais. Quantas mortes tiveram ai e também muitas abelhas amassadas,nao gostei.
+Adriano Sampaio I disagree, this hive method and way of dividing has proved to be very successful and is now so popular my uncle has trouble keeping up with demand of people wanting them.
The most intrusive video on splitting hives I've ever seen. You need to look at Tim Heards or Russell Zabels videos on splitting hives. Tim Heard has studied these bees for 30 years and works for the CSIRO and Russell Zabel has helped write books on these bees for the same amount of time. You can extract honey from these bees once a year easily if done correctly. You get about a 1kg of honey. Worst example of splitting hives you could ever dream of.
bushranger2 Taking 1 kg of honey from native bees sounds more intrusive to me - they need this to survive and continuously robbing native bee hives of their food is why they often die. We don't need a native bee honey industry in Australia we have enough from honey bees and anyway the honey isn't that great... Just because someone does something for 30 years it doesn't necessarily make them the gatekeeper to knowledge and idol on or only way how things should be done. Have a look at our follow up video and you'll see all 10 hives are doing well - if this is so "invasive" then why does it work so well?
I don't think it does work well. Someone who studies these bees for 30 years for a living I think would be a fair bit more knowledgeable than your average person. Do some research on them and you'll see. We'll have agree to disagree. Thanks for the upload though.
Self Sufficient Me agreed
but what research have you done? I was disappointed that Tim Heard's presentation doesn't talk about the queen at all. Where he splits horizontally it might make sense if you put the queen with the new brood and put the ready to hatch brood into the queen-less box, maybe? However, this old timer is clearly keeping bees quite well and splitting hives... look how many he has!
Ben Stephens Yeah I can't say I know much about them at all to be honest despite have 10 hives on our property but my uncle who demonstrates splitting in the video has 40 years of bee experience both honey and native so he does know what he's doing and has split hundreds of hives. But there are many ways to house native bees so not one way is the right way. Cheers :)