We move our bees all over most of the Southwest of Western Australia, placing hives in the right climate, with forests that have flowering flora. In Winter, we move our bees North for warmer conditions, and then make our way down South following the flowering seasons of the trees. We avoid areas with GM crops and pesticide sprays that are harmful to our bees.

We have an observation hive within our shop, so you can visit us any day and meet one of our colonies! We offer bookable events and workshops through the year where you can tour our hives or even get in a beesuit and do some beekeeping yourself. For more information, head to our events page.

Honey bees swarm as a part of the reproductive lifecycle of a colony. Essentially, they’re on the lookout for a good place to start a new hive — this usually happens in Spring. The Queen, together with about 60% of the worker bees, leaves the old hive and clusters on a nearby tree or shrub. The swarm will remain for a day or two while scout bees (a type of worker bee) search for a new home, then they move to the scouted location and start building the new hive there. Containing tens of thousands of bees, a swarm of bees can be frightening. However, they’re just looking for a new home, so they’re not usually aggressive (unless provoked). If you see a swarm, it’s best to stay out of their way while they do their thing. If the swarm stops in an inconvenient location (e.g. attached to a part of your home), you can call a local beekeeper at the WA Apiarist Society to remove it for you.

If you need to have the bees removed, call one of the local beekeepers at the WA Apiarist Society to help you out. Definitely avoid tackling the removal on your own, and never attempt exterminate the colony. Bee numbers are in decline so it’s essential to have it professional relocated rather than exterminated.

Worker bees make royal jelly from glands found in their heads as a nutritious food supply for larvae and the adult queen bee. It’s also used to create a new queen when the colony is ready. Worker bees feed chosen larvae copious amounts of royal jelly to trigger the development of queen morphology, which includes the ability for the queen to reproduce by laying eggs. Royal jelly can also be bought as a dietary and beauty supplement. However, it is not produced in abundance like honey making it labour intensive for beekeepers to collect.

A bee's diet consists of nectar, pollen and honey. Nectar is like their carbohydrates, and pollen is like their protein, both of which are essential for their health. Honey is their stored food - like your tins of beans or soups that you might put in your pantry for a rainy day - which they can eat during the winter when there aren't many flowers or much nectar around.

Just like us, they love to eat it. Honey is their food source, and the hive is their pantry of food.

Pollen can exacerbate or soothe hay fever symptoms. By eating pollen can help you desensitize yourself to pollen in the air. Consider purchasing pollen from your local area as this will help combat the local pollens you may be suffering from.

Native bees in Australia consist of over 2000 different species of varying sizes (from 2mm to 2cm) and colours. Native bees do not produce honey, but something called 'sugar bag'. Native bees do not have stingers, or queens, and their nests are much smaller. Honeybees, or European Honeybees (Apis Mellifera) are the kind of bees most commercial beekeepers choose to keep. This is because they live in bigger colonies, tend to be more docile and give a great honey yield.

The hive is made up of three bees: Queen Bee, Drone and Worker Bee. There is only one Queen, and she is the main egg layer (up to 1500 eggs per day!). There are a handful of Drones, which are male bees, and their only role is to fertilise other Queens, after which they die. Drones do not make honey and they also do not have stingers. Worker Bees are the honey producers, are all female, and make up the majority of the hive. They go through different roles in their lives: nurses, cleaners, bodyguards and foragers.

Bees are very social insects have highly sophisticated communication signals. They performed various “dances” to communicate a range of important matters. These include: The Round — signals food within 100m by running in a narrow circle with short steps. The Waggle — signals food further than 100m by making a narrow half circle to one side and then a sharp turn to repeat on the other side, resembling a wiggling motion. Cleaning Dance — A bee rapidly stamps her feet asking others to clean and groom her. Joy Dance — when the hive is at an optimum, bees love to celebrate! A bee places her legs on another bee and shakes six times before moving on to another bee. Alarm Dance — a zigzag dance alerting other bees of pending danger. Scrubbing Dance — Bees move up and down to polish the inside and outside of the hive.

Sadly, yes. The decline in world bee numbers is a frightening prospect. The mysterious mass die-off of honeybees is alarming. We don’t know exactly why, but climate change, GM crops and harsh crop chemicals are certainly part of the blame. Another huge threat to the bee population is the Veroa Mite, which we currently do not have in Western Australia.

Honeybees create a wonderful natural food supply and they are also the predominant reason why the human race has access to other food sources. Bees pollinate at least 80% of the total insect-pollinated plants, which form a third of our diet. Bees need pollen to feed their young and by gathering it, they fertilise (i.e. the act of pollination) each flowering plant. One bee can pollinate around 18,000 flowers per day. If bees become extinct, the entire food chain would be affected, worldwide. There would be no pollination, meaning no more plants, and no more animals.

Bees probably can’t be considered a pet in the traditional sense, but the art of beekeeping is a great way to understand nature and enjoy your own pot of fresh honey. You’d also be doing your part to support your local ecosystem and plant life. But they are more like dogs than cats - they require a lot of maintenance!