Bee Boxes

Native Bee Housing

Housing

Tetragonula carbonaria(TC) hives live naturally in hollow logs. These logs are unfortunately becoming very rare in the Australian landscape.

As an alternative they can be kept in a variety of insulated boxes to mimic the effect of the many millimetres of wood that would surround them in a hollow log.

I have kept TC in Davenport hives successfully for many years.These hives were originally designed by Peter Davenport of the Gold Coast Queensland

These hives are 210mm cubes with bolts on the back designed to be attached to Star Posts or Wall Brackets.

These cubes are further insulated with a cover of polystyrene (see Home page).

The Star posts place the hive at about 1500mm above the ground which is good for handling but perhaps too low if there are small children about. A Wall Bracket at 1800mm would be best in this circumstance.

The hives need to be sheltered from direct sunlight & any driving rain. I find that positioned on the East of buildings or bushy trees with the entrance facing North-East has worked well.

Under the wooden lid of the hive box there is a Perspex ceiling that allows observation of the hive without disturbance. This observation is essential to determine if the hive is full before splitting.

The hives come in 2 halves that can be easily separated each September to create 2 daughter hives.

Graeme Rose

20 Brimbin Rd Cundletown (near Taree Airport)

Email: grosebusiness@gmail.com

Mobile: 0452 078 393