A day of Native Bees February 2019

Did you know that beekeeping with native stingless bees is feasible in warmer areas of NSW?

Are you ready to become a native beekeeper?

In this workshop, scientists and educators Dr Tim Heard/ Tobias Smith will teach you the basics on how to become one. They will entertain and educate you at the same time. This workshop alternates between slide presentations and a practical session to build a strong foundation of knowledge and experience.

The stunning slide presentation will cover the topics of:

• bee nesting biology
• bee foraging biology
• diversity of wild bees
• importance of bees in natural systems
• traditional stingless beekeeping around the world
• modern stingless beekeeping in Australia
• using stingless bees for pollination of gardens and farms
• sugarbag honey and its properties
• rescuing bees threatened in the wild, and more.

 

In the practical session of this workshop, we will open a hive and observe the amazing structures within. We will divide the hive into two halves showing the process of colony propagation.

 

About the presenters

Dr Tim Heard is an entomologist, ex-CSIRO research scientist, and also a long term stingless bee keeper and promoter of native bees. Tim completed his university doctoral studies on using these bees for crop pollination. He has since published 60 research papers and popular articles on bees and pollination. He transferred his first hive from a cut down tree into a wooden box in 1985 and now manages hundreds of hives of three species around south east Queensland, obtained by rescuing threatened wild hives and dividing existing hives. He has developed new hive designs that allow for easy propagation and sustainable extraction of honey, without harming the colony. He has presented workshops and seminars for more than 20 years on bees in general and keeping stingless bees in particular. He is the author of The Australian Native Bee Book (best seller and multi award winner). 

 

Dr Tobias Smith is a native bee researcher who completed his PhD at the University of Queensland, and is currently a part-time pollinator researcher at the University of New England. His research interests include understanding bee communities in agricultural landscapes, and the use of native bees and other alternative pollinators in crop pollination. Tobias is the founder and director of Bee Aware Brisbane, an organisation that aims to increase awareness of native bees and their conservation in South East Queensland. Tobias is also a native stingless bee keeper, keeping hives in urban gardens around Brisbane and northern NSW. He is author of a chapter on creating nest sites for native bees in the NSW DPI AgGuide on Native bees. Tobias is an engaging and passionate educator.

Cost $150 includes:

• Full day workshop
• "Bee" inspired nutritious lunch
• Tea and coffee
• A copy of The Australian Native Bee Book (by Dr Tim Heard)

Location: Little star bee sanctuary - Missabotti NSW 2449

Details around the day will be sent out around 1 week prior.