Blog - Southern Highlands Bee Club

June 2026

Winter is here, so your hives should now be packed down and well resourced. When we get a warm day, it is worth doing a quick check. Varroa is still with us, and an oxalic acid treatment during a low‑brood period is one of the most effective tools we have.

Our Annual General Meeting is coming up soon. We are looking for new committee members to bring fresh ideas and help share the load. If you are willing to step in, even in a small way, it makes a real difference to the club.

May 2026

The cold weather is here, and you should have your hives well and truly prepared for winter by now. If not, it is never too late to add a feeder if that is required.

Also be aware of varroa mite. If you have not tested for varroa for a while it is well advised to pick the best day available and do an alcohol wash. If you meet the treatment threshold place a suitable treatment in your hive.

It will be just a few months until the end of the financial year and our AGM shortly after that. I encourage members to consider nominating for one of the committee positions.

We have some interesting meeting coming up with David McKinley talking about mead in May, Harvey Howard talking on Tropilaelaps in June and trivia coming up in July.

I hope everyone’s hives are doing well and they are keeping warm.

April 2026

The cold weather is just about here. Some might say Winter is coming. If you don’t have hives ready for winter, it is time to get them ready now.

Also check for honey flow. There might be an opportunity for a last-minute harvest in areas getting a late flow. The club hives have had a productive season with a good harvest of honey coming from them. Honey will be available for members at our next meeting.

Hoping our members are ready for winter and already planning for next season.

Have a happy Easter and stay safe.

February 2026

It really has been a summer this season. Heatwaves, thunderstorms and heavy rain interspersed with dry periods. Hopefully everyone is getting through this weather relatively unscathed. With the continued spread of varroa throughout the region it is importantly for everyone to be vigilant for small hive beetle in their hive. It isn’t something that we normally need to worry about but varroa seem to amplify their effect.

Treatment resistance has been found amongst varroa in NSW. I haven’t found any specific information on the area, but I suspect it would be somewhere in or around the Hunter region. This is where varroa and therefore treatments have been the longest. This highlights the importance of following an integrated pest control program. By not using products with a similar mode of action for treatments one after the other and cycling though different modes of action we can hopefully avoid resistance here for a while longer.

It is about time for the later flowering species of eucalypts to start flowering. Keep an eye out for honey flow coming into your hive and be ready for a late extraction if this is appropriate for your hive. Lastly it is also time to start planning for winter. If hives are low on resources, then now can be a good chance to give them a little boost.

January 2026

Happy New Year. I hope everyone has enjoyed a great Christmas and New Year break. Unfortunately, I could not attend the Christmas Gathering but I have heard everyone had a great time. The weather is heating up, hopefully this will bring us a good flowering of eucalyptus and a great honey flow with it. Be sure to have honey supers ready to go on your hives to catch any honey flow that may come along.

It is also important to make sure you have a water source available for your bees. You would be surprised how much water they can go through on hot days. It is still so important to keep an eye on mite levels as well as beetle numbers. The Sydney experience has shown that hives can be quickly overcome if not managed.

I look forward to seeing everyone at our February meeting.

December 2025

The summer season has begun, we are hoping to see eucalyptus flowering, to give the honey flow a boost.

Varroa continues to spread, so it is important to monitor regularly and be on top of any infestation that reaches threshold.

Our Christmas party will be held on the 12 December in Mittagong, wishing all our members have a happy Christmas and new year.

November 2025

Our AGM was successful with a full committee elected.
The warm weather has arrived, hopefully this will lead to more flowering particularly from eucalypts.
Varroa has continued to move through the area. It is still a bit hit and miss with some areas having lots of detections and others finding very little or none.
The club Christmas party is coming up and hopefully we see plenty of members there and we enjoy a good day with nice weather.

October 2025

Spring is well and truly here.
Hives have started swarming and varroa is being found throughout the region. This is not cause for panic but something to be aware of so that action can be taken when required.
Managing your hives for swarming and doing regular tests for varroa. Get yourself across all the treatment options and have your IPM in place. Varroa is not hard to manage but it does require management.
The last few years has seen a lot of attention on varroa, but it is important to also be on the lookout for other pests and diseases such as small hive beetle and AFB. They are still around and require the management that they always have.

September 2025

Spring is here and it is time to check our hives at the earliest opportunity. The sooner you test for varroa the sooner you can take the action necessary to manage your hive. It is also important to keep a careful watch on small hive beetle infestations and manage them appropriately. It will be a bit of a roller coaster ride for a few years, but things will settle down in time.

We have had good amounts of rainfall over the winter so hopefully high levels of soil moisture will convert to a good flowering season for our bees.

Our AGM is coming up in October. Please consider nominating for a committee position. Our club is made better with member participation. I am happy to answer any questions members may have on committee positions.

SHAA President

August 2025

Spring is fast approaching. Days are getting longer, and the weather will be warmer. This means we need to be sure our bees are ready for the spring build up. You need to check they have enough nectar and pollen coming in to develop all the brood they need to build up to summer hive strength.

The AGM is also approaching fast. It is important the members give thought to being a part of the committee. The club exists because of members for members. The committee is a particularly important part of any association and requires members to be involved. I look forward to plenty of nominations.

I am looking forward to getting back into beekeeping and seeing members at meetings and field days which will start up again very soon.

SHAA President

July 2025

Winter has turned a bit cold recently, this means bees could be using more of their stored resources to stay warm. It is important to keep an eye on your hives to ensure they still have plenty of honey or whether they need to be fed. Spring will be here soon enough and the stronger your bees are the more prepared they will be once the spring flowering starts.

Memberships are due for renewal, if you haven’t renewed yet here is a gentle reminder to do it.

Our AGM will be coming up in October, this is a good chance to get involved in the running of our club. Member participation is important for the success of any association, and the committee is a great way to contribute. I am happy to chat to anyone who has any questions about the committee.

I hope everyone’s hives are doing well and you are keeping warm and dry.

SHAA President.

June 2025

So far, our winter has been very mild. This might seem like a good thing for our bees, but it can come with a downside. Bees will be more active and out foraging but if there is not much in the environment for them, they might be using a lot of energy and not really getting a return on it. This makes it important to check on bees to make sure they still have plenty of resources in their hive.

The easiest way to do this is to lift the back of the hive to see how heavy it is.

It is also very important to be vigilant about varroa mite. If a hive seems to be struggling a bit, it might be worth doing an alcohol wash to check for mite. Getting a treatment in sooner could save your hive and get them through to spring.

I hope everyone’s hives are doing well and thriving.