After a tough year and a half since varroa mite was first confirmed in Queensland, beekeepers are seeing unusually high levels of swarming and supersedure this spring.
Swarming is when a colony splits into two and supersedure is the replacement of an existing queen bee with a new queen in the same colony.
While this cannot be attributed back to any one cause, the varroa mite caused some colonies to replace their queens over winter.
Varroa mite is a tiny red-brown parasite that attacks honeybees.
It is estimated about 90% of wild honeybee colonies in south-east Queensland have been affected by the mite.
September was the start of bee season and bees normally swarm at this time of year.
However, supersedure normally occurs in mid to late summer.
Hampson Honey beekeeper Kim De Mezieres said she was seeing and hearing about superseding happening more than ever before.
“Bees are doing very weird things at the moment,” Ms De Mezieres said.
Hampson Honey is a Logan Village based family business.
Carl and Karin Hampson first started the business in 2012.
The business sells honey, but beekeeping is its number one passion.
With hives located across south-east Queensland, they all come back to the extraction plant based at Jimboomba.
This honey is then packed in its Logan Village facility.
Ms De Mezieres said the hives were placed following honey flows – major nectar sources that were in bloom.
She has found there are good honey flows now because feral beehives have been affected by the varroa mite, meaning there is less competition among bees.
Hampson Honey also sells beekeeping supplies and offers swarm removal services.
There is a need for these services in the local community and Ms De Mezieres said at one stage there was a large population of bees.
The company would send out their beekeepers since they would receive calls from people asking for bees to be removed, as only licensed beekeepers can do so.
While the business offers other services, raw honey is what it is known for.
It contains antioxidants, amino acids and essential minerals.
Raw honey is kept below a certain temperature to ensure it keeps these properties that make it beneficial.
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