Starting up

HOW WHERE AND WHEN

TO GET YOUR BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT, BEE COLONY (INC QUEEN)

AND INDIVIDUAL QUEENS FROM.

Beekeepers Veil or Half Suit or Full Suit
Smoker
Hive tool
Gloves
A complete hive
Some spare frames and boxes
A colony of bees

For your hardware and protective gear there are a number of beekeeping suppliers in the South Gippsland area which include:

Jeeralang Apiary Supplies run by Stan Glowacki
Hill Top Hives run by Peter Gatehouse:
Fisher's Beekeeping Supplies run by Robert Fisher
Further afield is: Redpath's Beekeeping in Parkdale, Melbourne.

Contact details can be found either in our newsletter or Google

To get your first lot of bees you can make inquiries with suppliers within the club (as listed) but also through the Nuc List and Swarm List within the club as listed on the Club Services page.
(The advantage with collecting a swarm is that it is free.)

The best time of year to order your first colony of bees and new queens is in the autumn or early winter. This is the time to get your name onto the order or waiting list in preparation for the next bee season which begins with massive hive growth in early spring.

There are many bee colony and queen suppliers all over the country but it's best to get your bee colonies from a supplier as close to you as possible to ensure that they are acclimatized to local conditions.

There are queen breeders in Victoria but sometimes a particular race of queen or unavailability in general may mean that you have to order from NSW or Qld.

Queens travel well and can be posted across the country with no ill-effects if treated appropriately.

When your queen bee arrives you may not be able to put her into the hive straight away but as along as she and her attendants are kept in a darkish place at a warm room temperature and given a drop or two of water each day, they will be fine for up to 7 days.

Getting Started in Beekeeping (pdf) This 7 page article written by Colin Goodwin is packed with information to help you. From working out if beekeeping is for you through to setting up costs.

Beekeepers wearing half suits with zipper attached veils, leather gloves with cotton gauntlets. In situ are 2 hives with 2 brood boxes and a honey super on top of each one. A smoker is being carried as is a spare box. This is used to store frames while hives are being checked.