The photo below is from the Bee Expo 2016 at Imbil. The little wooden blocks are Solitary Bee Observation Blocks and were made by Chris Fuller of Kin Kin Native Bees . The idea is that some Solitary Bees like Leaf Cutters or Resin Bees will create their nest in…
I’ve been working on some routed timber signs… I’ve used some rough Cypress timber slabs here, putting them through the thicknesser to achieve a nice flat surface. The grain shows up really nicely on Cypress, as opposed to Hoop Pine which is fairly bland. It took me a while to…
This is the new version of my Budding Kit (Budding also known as Eduction). The previous version was quite involved in the construction which made for a great box but was possibly overkill, so i’ve stripped the design right down to simplify the construction while still providing the same result,…
This article demonstrates a very simple design of a Stingless Bee Box – Pine OATH. Standard OATH dimensions are 280mm long by 200mm wide. This design is based on these OATH Construction Plans (OATH – Original Australian Trigona Hive) This is 33mm thick x 100mm wide Hoop Pine which is…
Above: I fetched one of the spare Mail Boxes I usually make Below: Adding a head, tail and feet. The head started out facing forward as you’d think would be normal, After thinking about it i pawsed, and remembering the Mambo dog, it’s better to have the head turning back,…
These are slim honey tray frames that sit on top of the standard OATH design. There’s two frames and also the top lid with a similar shallow depth make it three frames for collecting honey. These three sections replace the standard honey super. The idea is to have a shallow…
I thought i’d make a few Observation boxes with a fitted lid, not hinged. The lid will be easily removed so you can see through the viewing window and check on the progress of the bees. The top honey super frame. I’ve recessed the viewing window in and removed a section…
The Dictionary describes a Skep as “A straw or wicker beehive”. Quote from Wikipedia “Skeps, baskets placed open-end-down, have been used to house bees for some 2000 years. Initially they were made from wicker plastered with mud and dung but from the Middle Ages they were made of straw. In northern and…
I decided to set up one of my Log Cabins for Budding (Hive Duplication). This process could be done with just about any kind of empty box. I thought it might be better to do it this way than to split a hive because then you will have to split it…
This is version 2 for the Outhouse design. Features: Holds a standard size OATH inside This is a bit of fun Cosmetic difference for your Native Bee Hive Provides some great insulation. Below: I ripped down some Cypress in to strips 15mm thick for the walls, 40mm thick for the…
Moisture Content & Wood Hives
Bee Hive Design Gallery
Painting Gaps
Splitting Plates and Bars
Landing Pad
OATH Construction Plans
Build or Buy Empty Boxes?
Layered OATH
Solitary Bee Hotels
Project OctaHive
Rebated Cypress OATH
Log Cabin Hive
Outhouse V2 – OATH
The Crate
Goodrich Box Budding
Creating a new hive
Syrphid Fly – Wasp Mimic
Putting bees in to the Goodrich box
Budding – Hive Duplication Example
Hive Positions & Tips
Solitary Bees
Stingless Bee Industry looks to the future
Mitchelton Library with Tobias Smith
John Klumpp – Brisbane Native Bee Club
Australian Native Bee Conference 2018
Bee Yourself – Sarah & Dean