Spring is the Season when the air is sweet with the scent of a million flowers. In fact, Australia is one of the few countries in the world where flowers bloom all year round. From the bush to the bay, everything from our tallest trees to our mangroves flowers at its time to do so on verges that overlap each other and ensure everything that lives here, interconnected and whole, thrives.
Naturally, no pun intended, a vital element of this is the humble and regal insect we call the bee.
This Issue a few insights into local hives and honey from Avalon Honey gentleman Giles Stoddard.
Giles is a member of the Northern Beaches Beekeepers Club. The NBBC supports aspiring and experienced beekeepers from Cammeray to Barrenjoey. You can find out more here: www.beekeepers.asn.au/northern-beaches
Over to Giles:
Many people eat honey because it ‘tastes like home’ to them, and is derived from plants that grow in the area it is harvested from. Having owned and run Avalon Honey for years, what would you describe as unique about honey that comes from Pittwater?
I’ve kept honey bees in my back garden for the last 10 years since we moved back to Avalon Beach from England. I love that our honey tastes very different throughout the seasons as we have a great variety of flowering trees and plants in our area. My personal favourite honey is our Spring honey which has a light floral flavour, however that tends to be only for a short period of time. I think this is most like the floral honey that I ate as a child growing up in England. The nectar flow here moves quickly to create our summer honey which has a delicious caramel flavour to it. As we move into Autumn the Spotted gum tree is flowering and the strong gum tree flavour come through, this is a much darker colour and is a favourite with many of my local customers. Interestingly every second year I have a batch of honey that crystallises very quickly and has tiny crystals, which make the honey taste as smooth as butter. I call this my ‘naturally creamed honey’ and my wife and my customers absolutely love it! I can also make creamed honey, but it’s quite a lot more work for me. It’s worth noting that creamed honey only contains 100% pure raw local honey, it has been mixed similar who how you whisk cream to thicken it. I point that out as a few had the perception that cream is added at some point.
My Avalon Honey table at my front door at 32 Elouera Road. When I’m out of my Avalon Honey, I sell Snives Hives honey all year round.
Why were you attracted to being a beekeeper; what was the spark?
For me the spark was certainly the great memories of harvesting honey with my parents in my uncle’s workshop back in England. I’m not sure how much I really helped my parents, but I certainly loved eating the honey straight from the comb. Back in those days, there were no beekeeping suits for children, so I didn’t get an opportunity for hands on work in my dad’s beehives. I’d always thought “I’ll have my own hives one day, when I’m older” and then my wife bought me two beehives for my 40th birthday when we were living back in England. I was hooked on it right from the start and quickly my passion for beekeeping became less about the honey and more learning about these fascinating insects, that work so hard for the success of their colony. The more you learn about bees, the more fascinating they are.
You are also President of the Northern Beaches Beekeepers club – what does the club do?
I was the President of Northern Beaches Beekeepers club until this week when I stood down from the committee after having served 5 consecutive terms (maximum in our constitution). The NBB club supports aspiring, novice and experienced beekeepers from Cammeray to Barrenjoey on Sydney's Northern Beaches. We do this through monthly club meetings and club apiary events. The club meetings are on the first Wednesday of each month at The Tramshed in Narrabeen and our Apiary events are the third weekend of each month at Oxford Falls.
Our club has an active private members Facebook group, where we can offer local answers to questions that members have about their bees, this in itself is a great resource, as beekeeping as a hobby is affected by the local climate, weather and flora, so the right action for a beekeeper on the Beaches may not be the right action for a beekeeper in the Blue Mountains. We also have members of our club that will collect swarms of bees, and we actively encourage members of the public to contact a beekeeper if they see a swarm of bees.
Photo of the commemorative hive tool that I was gifted having completed 5 terms on the NBB Committee and the other was a birthday gift from my wife for my 50th.
NBB Club Apiary event at Oxford Falls
NBB Club meeting - honey judging event
Is there a course for people who are novice beekeepers?
Unfortunately, our current NBB apiary site is not suitable for us to run an introductory beekeeping course. The club committee has been in discussion with Federal and State members of parliament, our local Councillors and local companies about finding a location for an apiary that meets our needs, but so far the options that we’ve been keen to pursue haven’t been available to us. However, our club does have a good relationship with the committee of the North Shore Beekeepers Association (NSBKA) and we promote their training courses, it’s possible to register for interest in a course via their website: https://nsbka.org.au/courses/
What does an Northern Beaches Beekeepers club Apiary event involve?
The NBB Apiary events are a great way for new beekeepers to build up their knowledge and confidence, so they understand what to look for and have more confidence during inspections of their own hives. These events are run by an experience beekeeper and various aspects of inspecting hives are both demonstrated and can be done by attendees. These can be simple things such as how to light your smoker so that is stays alight for the whole of your inspection, through to demonstrating how to test for varroa mites and how to identify different types of pests and diseases from observing the bees and their comb.
These Apiary events are also open to guests, and they can be a great way to decide if beekeeping is something that you really want to commit to before investing money and time in to this hobby. I remember we had a couple that attended a Wednesday night club meeting and were adamant at the end that they were going to buy a $1,000 Flow hive and all the associate accessories. I suggested they come along to the apiary event to open a hive before taking the plunge. A couple of weeks later they paid a $5 guest fee and watched as we opened the hives. I spoke to them to encourage them to come closer to take a look inside the hive, but they said they were terrified and had no idea there would be so many bees. While this was an unusual reaction, most people love it, I see that this was ultimately good for them as it saved them buying a hive and then potentially not managing it properly due to be anxious about the number of bees.
Does Northern Beaches Beekeepers club cater to native bees and production from hives of the same?
As a club our focus is on European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) however, over the years we have had a number of club talks by experts on native bees, specifically the native stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) which lives in a colony and can survive and thrive in the climate of the Northern Beaches. Quite a number of our club members also keep colonies of native bees and some are experts in this field. My own personal favourite native bee is the Blue banded bee (Amegilla cingulate) which is a solitary ground dwelling bee. I love their deep buzz and enjoy seeing them in my garden.
How can people get involved?
The best way to get involved is to attend one of our club meetings or become a member. You can both join the club or register for club meetings and apiary events via our website: https://www.beekeepers.asn.au/northern-beaches
Spring is when people may see bees swarming – what should they do if this occurs near them or in their gardens?
Firstly, please try not to panic and don’t swipe at bees as fast actions are likely to annoy them. Seeing a swarm of 10,000+ bees or more can be a fascinating event but can also be worrying for some people who react badly to bee stings. Although bee stings can be a serious risk to some people, bees that are swarming are generally calm as they don’t have a home or baby bees to defend while they are outside the hive looking for a new location to make their hom
Secondly, please do contact a beekeeper as soon as possible when you see a swarm. Across many NSW postcodes, you can find a beekeeper who’s willing to collect swarms via this website: www.beekeepers.asn.au/swarms. Our NBB club also has a Swarm Hotline: 0491 647 969 that people can call. Additionally, if you post on many of the local social media pages with a photo of a swarm, you’ll find that someone can tag a local beekeeper that may be able to help.
A swarm of bees is a natural way that colonies of bees multiply. After settling on a tree, bush, wall or the ground for a few hours to a few days, the bees will relocate into a cavity they have decided will be their new home. Honey bees are not native to Australia and can compete with native birds, animals and insects for limited cavities in older trees. They can also find a cavity wall of a building a suitable location, so we want members of the public to report a swarm to a beekeeper as soon as possible. As hobby beekeepers, many of us will collect bees that are out in the open as this is relatively simple to rehome them in a managed hive. When a colony becomes established in a cavity, the work becomes more difficult and is better suited to a professional beekeeper such as Andrew Wilson from Snives Hives and Sydney Bee Rescue: www.sydneybeerescue.org
What are the benefits of having bees?
There are a number of benefits to having bees in your own garden or a nearby neighbours garden. Honey bees are great at pollinating a wide variety of plants. If you grow fruit, herbs or vegetables in your garden you crop will improve significantly if you have bees (honey bees, native solitary and native communal bees) visiting your garden. The colonies of native bees only travel around 500 meters from their hive, so can be great in your own garden. Honey bees will travel a number of kilometres to gather nectar and pollen, however, they have learnt to be efficient, so will prefer closer trees and plants if they are available.
Another key benefit of keeping honey bees is they produce a large amount of excess honey, compared to what they actually need. Honey bees are preparing to survive a long cold European Winter, which never comes here on the beaches, so some years they can produce huge amounts of honey that they don’t need to consume. If we don’t take the honey from the bees, they will become ‘honey bound’ and run out of room, which leads to more swarms being created. I personally only take the excess honey from my bees and leave them plenty of honey for any extended period when it’s too cold or normally too wet to fly or if it’s too dry and the plants are not producing nectar.
The Varroa has heavily impacted beekeepers across NSW and Pittwater – how can residents support beekeepers at present?
Yes, unfortunately in this last year since the eradication attempts stopped, the varroa mite has quickly spread across the greater Sydney basin and pretty much every beekeeper in Pittwater now has seen mites in their hives. The main thing that the public can do to help local beekeepers is to continue to buy their products, such as honey, which tastes great. We have several beekeepers that attend local markets, which is a great place to chat to a beekeeper and find out which suburbs they have their bees in. You can also ask around on local social media as usually a friend will know a local beekeeper who sells honey, as well as beeswax candles and other bee related products near to you.
There are and have been more challenges in recent years – floods and fires and the loss of hives thereby – how do you rebuild hives after such losses?
We do live in a fabulous country that has extreme weather events. I lost two of my colonies of bees when Careel Creek flooded in March 2022 during heavy rains and a king tide that meant there was nowhere for the rain to go except into people’s gardens and houses. I have a couple in North Avalon that host hives for me in their back garden, which backs on to Careel Creek. We had agreed on a location for the bees which was away from the house, and unfortunately the garden flooded very quickly before I could get there to move the hives. I was devastated and I tried to save the colony, but despite many thousands of bee surviving the flood and me giving them a new dry home with food, they never really became strong enough to survive the cooler Winter weather.
Avalon Honey's Giles trying to save his bees:
That didn't stop Giles asking others to donate blood if they could later the very same day, March 8th, as Red Cross sent out the following:
'''Blood donors are urgently needed across Australia as the impact of flooding and road closures resulted in a shortfall of 3,000 donations – the equivalent of an entire Saturday’s supply – with further impacts expected throughout this week.
If you’re thinking 'How can I help?’, donating blood ensures that patients in all communities get the medical treatment they need. Book a donation today: https://donateblood.page.link/4flds ''
Mr. Stoddard is an Avalon Beach SLSC member - a club that offered to throw open its doors for those who were being evacuated.
Rescuing my honey bees from the Careel Creek flooding in March 2022
The way that I rebuilt after the flood was to catch a whole lot of swarms the next Spring. Within a period of two months I had caught 8 swarms, 5 of which I kept in order to build up my own apiary in an attempt to keep up with the demand of my delicious Avalon Honey.
It's probably more common for beekeepers to lose colonies to bee related pests and diseases. Although varroa mite is a major threat and something that beekeepers need to learn to manage, there are plenty of other diseases, such as AFB and EFB which affect the brood and pests such as Small Hive Beetle and Wax moth which are ever present. Beekeepers need to keep a vigilant eye out for and ensure their colonies are strong and healthy through regular inspections and maintaining the right amount of space in each hive.
Does the Northern Beaches Beekeepers club have a ‘motto’ or favourite phrase it operates under or which epitomises the aims of the club?
Our club mission is “To promote better beekeeping through knowledge” and this aligns well with my own personal passion for educating people about bees. When people come over to buy honey from my front door, they often ask me a question about bees and I’ll show them my hives and keep talking until they really need to get going!
I personally give talks about honey bees and beekeeping at local pre-school, schools and special interest groups and I have also donated a number of beekeeping experience days to help with fund raising events for Avalon Public School, Barrenjoey High School and also Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving club. These were a great experience for a few local families and the children at schools have so many great questions about bees which is lovely to hear and they love it when I take along my display frame with bees into their classroom.
Checking the honey stores at my home hives
I need my glasses for inspection
Transferring honey to jars
Your (Giles) favourite place in Pittwater and why?
My favourite place in Pittwater has to be Avalon Beach. I became an active member of Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving club when my children joined Nippers and I’m now a Patrol Captain of P7, I’m one of the Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) trainers and the IRB competition manager. When I’m not with my family or my bees, then I’m often at the SLSC, on the beach or out on the water driving the rescue boat. I enjoy keeping members of the public informed about the risks and make sure they are aware that the safest place to swim is between the flags.
Giles On Patrol on the morning of Saturday October 5 2024 at ABSLSC
About Avalon Honey
Giles sells honey, and also beeswax candles and beeswax wraps from his home at 32 Elouera Road, Avalon Beach. Please follow my bees on social media, as I post there when I have local honey available. It often sells out within weeks of me harvesting, so please also consider finding a local beekeeper near you on the beaches. There’s lots of us!
Email: AvalonHoneyBees@gmail.com
A customer, Holly, from England purchased a gift package for her friend, Julie that lives in Avalon Beach. All these products from my hives.
