The Backyard Beekeeper

The Backyard Beekeeper We are proud to offer a complete and unique personalised set of services for the aspiring urban Backyard beekeeper. ABN Australian Registered business.

Fully insured for all types of beekeeping work including but not limited to education in schools, removal of bees from public places including structures, apiary set ups in urban environments. Flowhive (TM) Australia authorised for direct to public sales and support. Department of Primary Industry registered. NSW Amateurs Beekeeping Member
Hunter Valley Amateur Beekeeping Member
2021 AHC31818 Ce

rtificate III in beekeeping
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30/08/2026

🐝 VARROA UPDATE — W/E 30/08/26 🐝
❄️ THE LAST DAY OF WINTER!

Well… winter is officially over, and the bees clearly didn’t get the memo! 😂🐝

They continue to show exactly what makes them so incredible — resilience, determination and an absolute refusal to give up.

🟢 THE GOOD

🐝 THE BEES ARE REBUILDING!

Swarming continues, and prosperous times are returning in many areas.

The bees are doing what bees do best — surviving, reproducing and keeping the species going.

For beekeepers, though, the swarms and rapid colony growth are once again putting our skills and knowledge to the test.

Spring has a way of resetting the scoreboard! 😜

As you can see from the video, we’re rebuilding strongly too.

💪 Strong nucs are starting to become available again from us over the coming months.

It’s been a long road — but we’re getting there!

────────

🔴 THE BAD

⚠️ BOONAH / MT ALFORD — VARROA IS NOW THERE.

We found large numbers of Varroa last week around the Boonah / Mt Alford areas.

Even more concerning, nearby beekeepers were unaware of what was happening.

Some were losing bees and couldn’t understand why — with no treatments being used in their hives.

This is exactly why vigilance is so important.

📈 Varroa numbers continue to climb in isolated pockets.

Regular alcohol washes are one of your best early warning systems.

🇦🇺 VIC & SA BEEKEEPERS — IF YOU’RE FOLLOWING THIS THREAD, TAKE NOTE.

The spread is likely to become very swift from here.

If you’re using synthetic treatments, monitor mite drop rates EVERY WEEK.

As a rough field guide during the initial infestation period, we’ve found that multiplying your wash result by around 30 can give you an indication of the potential mite population and what you might expect to see dropping following treatment.

For example:

🧪 Wash = 10 mites
📈 Rough guide = around 300 mites potentially dropping during the first 3–5 days of treatment.

BUT — this is ONLY a guide.

We’ve seen both ends of the extreme, so don’t treat the number as gospel.

If your expected mite drop isn’t happening, don’t simply assume everything is fine.

➡️ Wash again in around two weeks.
➡️ Compare the numbers.
➡️ Is the population going UP or DOWN?

💨 Vapourisation can give you a much clearer picture of the mite load, with the drop rate becoming apparent around 24–48 hours after treatment.

📧 Email us for an InstaVap coupon code.

────────

🟠 THE UGLY

🚨 THE VIRUS PICTURE REMAINS VERY CONCERNING.

We’re continuing to see what appears to be significant virus pressure visually across North Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast and now in the Gold Coast.

If you’re seeing large numbers of bees dying:

🍯 KEEP NUTRITION UP.
🧪 CHECK YOUR MITE COUNTS.
👀 LOOK CAREFULLY AT WHAT IS HAPPENING OUTSIDE THE HIVE.

And importantly…

Mite counts don’t always tell the whole story when it comes to virus pressure.

One thing we’ve noticed in the field is that virus-related colony problems can look very similar to poisoning.

A pattern we’ve observed with suspected virus pressure is:

🐝 Hundreds of apparently perfectly formed bees
🐝 Crawling around on the ground
🐝 Unable to fly
🐝 Eventually dying

With poisoning, you may see:

🐝 Large numbers of dead bees
🐝 Bees being discarded from the hive
🐝 Often fewer crawling bees remaining around the entrance

They can look VERY similar — but the volume and behaviour we’re seeing can be dramatically different.

This isn’t a substitute for proper diagnosis, but it’s something worth watching closely.

────────

🐝 SO… SPRING IS HERE!

CHECK. WASH. WATCH. RECHECK

Don't forget to sing the petition from Jeff Wecker - it's really needs everyone's support to get on the governments agenda.

Hopefully this update helps someone this week.

As always, good luck for the week ahead! 🐝💪

The Backyard Beekeeping Team

🐝 Rick
🐝 Gracie — Gold Coast / South Brisbane
🐝 Steve — Kingaroy / Toowoomba regions
🐝 Wifey — On the clock EVERY day! 😂

Video -
Nice to see the bees flying again and not all dying. Nucs being readied for sale. Email us to be in the waitlist [email protected]

🚨 THIS ISN’T JUST A PETITION — IT’S A WAKE-UP CALL 🚨https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN10425🐝 Beekeeping Upda...
26/08/2026

🚨 THIS ISN’T JUST A PETITION — IT’S A WAKE-UP CALL 🚨
https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN10425

🐝 Beekeeping Update — 947 / 10,000 signatures

⏰ 22 DAYS LEFT.

947 people have signed.

That leaves 9,053 signatures still needed.

And that means, according to the numbers, there are potentially 27,999,053 Australians who haven’t signed yet — despite the fact that the issue directly impacts the bees responsible for supporting a huge portion of Australian agriculture.

And here’s the part that really concerns me…

🇦🇺 Australia has more than 50,000 recreational and commercial beekeepers.

If even a fraction of us get behind this, 10,000 signatures should be achievable.

This takes about 2 minutes.

👉 Enter your email address.
👉 Confirm your signature.
👉 SHARE IT.

That’s it.

🐝 WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Beekeepers don’t have armies of lobbyists sitting in Canberra fighting our corner.

We don’t have enormous political budgets.

And unfortunately, even with media attention, we can still struggle to be heard.

This petition gives us something we desperately need:

A collective voice.

A voice saying that beekeepers matter.

A voice saying that our farmers matter.

A voice saying that pollination matters.

And a voice saying that the future of Australian agriculture matters.

🇳🇿 Look at New Zealand — the average cost of Varroa treatment per hive is reportedly around $1, compared with the costs many Australian beekeepers are now facing.

And this isn’t just about beekeepers.

It’s about the farmers who rely on bees to help produce the food we put on Australian tables.

🐝 50,000+ beekeepers.
🌾 Australian agriculture.
🍎 Our food supply.
🇦🇺 Our future.

We have 22 days.

Please — if you haven’t signed yet, take the two minutes.

SIGN. CONFIRM. SHARE.

And then send it to every beekeeper, farmer, friend and family member you know.

Because if we can’t get 10,000 Australians to stand up and say “this matters”…

how do we expect anyone in Canberra to listen?

🐝🇦🇺 PLEASE SIGN. PLEASE SHARE. LET’S GET THIS OVER THE LINE.

Thanks to Jeff Wecker for organising the petition

23/08/2026

🐝 VARROA UPDATE — WEEK ENDING 23/08/26 🐝

Well… it’s been another BIG week in the world of bees.

There are a few signs of light starting to appear in some areas, but there are still some serious challenges facing colonies across Brisbane and beyond.

So, as always…

🟢 THE GOOD

OA strips are FINALLY starting to show some impact in areas that aren’t being hammered by constant re-infestation or the dreaded “mite bombs.”

For colonies that have made it through the worst of the plague-level mite numbers, we’re beginning to see some real results from 4–6 week OA strip changeovers.

That’s encouraging. 👏🐝

BUT — and it’s a BIG but…

If you’re only just seeing Varroa arrive in your area, don’t assume OA strips alone are going to save the day.

You are likely going to need a combination of treatments and a very proactive management approach.

This observation is based primarily on what we’re seeing across the majority of local Brisbane areas — conditions and reinfestation pressure can be very different from one location to another.

🟠 THE BAD

Swarming. Supersedure. Queen problems.

Honestly… what we are seeing coming out of winter in surviving colonies is some of the craziest queen behaviour we’ve ever experienced. 😳

With better weather and conditions arriving, colonies are exploding — but the combination of Varroa stress + treatment stress + rapid population growth appears to be causing colonies to react in ways that are making swarm management incredibly difficult.

We’re seeing colonies throw multiple swarms despite the best efforts of beekeepers to control them.

And that brings us to another BIG problem…

🐝 Quality mated queens are almost impossible to get hold of right now.

Demand is through the roof and availability is extremely limited.

For us, we’ll be looking to start breeding our own queens around September/October, once we know we have suitable drone quality available.

Because breeding queens is one thing…

Breeding GOOD queens is another.

🔴 THE UGLY…

IAPV — Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus — is STILL causing problems.

And this one is particularly concerning.

We’re continuing to see the virus impacting colonies with both high AND low mite counts, currently from around Bald Hills right through towards the Sunshine Coast.

Bald Hills and surrounding suburbs are also experiencing some massive mite infestation rates, with IAPV appearing in the same areas.

At this stage, there is no magic bullet for this combination.

So what can you do?

☀️ Give your bees full sun all day where possible.

🥄 Feed thin sugar syrup when colonies need support.

🦠 Consider a suitable gut-health supplement/probiotic, such as Brood Booster or a similar product.l that can be added into sugar water.

🌼 And most importantly…

WATCH YOUR POLLEN COMING IN.

Bees need quality pollen for protein and colony recovery.

Have a look at those returning foragers.

Are they coming home with full pollen pants?

If they’re not, you’ve got another piece of the puzzle to investigate.

📣 FINALLY…count down is on 25 days to go..... yes it has a deadline

Don’t forget what we’re trying to achieve here.

Beekeepers need to be heard.

Jeff Wecker has organised the petition calling for this issue to be brought before Parliament — and we need 10,000 confirmed online signatures.

It takes around 30 seconds.

Thirty seconds.

That’s less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. ☕😂

If every beekeeper, farmer, family member, friend and supporter gets behind this, we can make some serious noise.

👉 SIGN IT.
👉 SHARE IT.
👉 SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.
👉 GET YOUR BEEKEEPING CLUB INVOLVED.
👉 KEEP TALKING ABOUT VARROA.

Because silence doesn’t get governments moving.

Numbers do.

🐝🐝🐝 10,000 signatures. Let’s get there. 🐝🐝🐝
https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN10425?fbclid=IwcGRvZgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFkMUhwT3FIVUhkSzdaRjdtc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHuJUL-GFqGSFsW2b39o5tG2-27mlmjXyjeNP80z6TeUZ6Hs9UOz1nYuZv_ms_aem_5nuic_q4JKEJf3MxlO9H2g

Good luck out there, stay vigilant and keep those bees fighting.

(Video was taken in a Bald hills today)

The Backyard Beekeeping Team
Rick
Gracie
Stevo
Wifey ❤️🐝

Wednesday Varroa Update — 19/08/26This lot in the picture aren’t going to fix this for us… until we make them talk about...
19/08/2026

Wednesday Varroa Update — 19/08/26

This lot in the picture aren’t going to fix this for us… until we make them talk about it.

Right now, our best weapon is making enough noise that they can’t ignore us.

🐝 We need 10,000 signatures.
🏛️ 10,000 signatures means this issue can be brought before Parliament.
⏱️ It takes around 2 minutes to sign.

Two minutes.

That’s all we’re asking.

This isn’t just about beekeepers. Varroa affects our bees, our beekeeping industry, our farmers, our food production and ultimately millions of Australians.

Surely, between all of us, we can find 10,000 people willing to spend two minutes to stand behind our beekeepers and our bees?

PLEASE SIGN IT. 🐝

Then do one more thing…

👉 Share this post.
👉 Tag your friends.
👉 Send it to your family.
👉 Ask your friends to ask their friends.

10,000 signatures doesn’t happen because someone else does it.

It happens because YOU do it — and then you get someone else to do it too.

Let’s make them hear us.

10,000 signatures. 2 minutes. One very important message.

🐝 Stand with our beekeepers. Stand with our bees.

PLEASE SIGN & SHARE.

Thanks to Jeff WeJeff Weckeris



https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN10425?fbclid=IwZnRzaATyZXRwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5eulAjLoIQHTExtM8uV5QHCXLN59q6KWJHGB8UBydnO2pfl8iSbsQPvJFvYg_aem_bMPvBdy2nA_zwiDcx3nCxw

Varroa Update — Week Ending 16/08/26THE GOOD. 🐝❤️This week, we’re doing something a little different.No bad. No ugly. Ju...
16/08/2026

Varroa Update — Week Ending 16/08/26

THE GOOD. 🐝❤️

This week, we’re doing something a little different.

No bad. No ugly. Just GOOD.

As the Brisbane Ekka wraps up, it’s time to recognise something that deserves a huge amount of credit — the incredible effort that has gone into the QBA stand over the past week.

With an expected 400,000+ people attending the Ekka this year, an enormous number have walked through the QBA stand, tasted Queensland honey, enjoyed the famous honey popcorn, and — perhaps most importantly — learned about what our industry is facing with Varroa and the enormous impact it is having on beekeepers, growers, agriculture and our food security.

And behind it all has been the MnM crew — Murray & Megan

What these two have put into this stand has been nothing short of extraordinary.

The energy.
The commitment.
The countless hours.
The organisation.
The passion.
The willingness to simply get in there and make it happen.

And let’s remember — six weeks ago, there may not have even been a QBA stand at the Ekka.

Yet here we are.

A stand that has put Queensland beekeeping directly in front of hundreds of thousands of people at one of Queensland’s biggest events.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens because people care.

So, Murray and Megan — a massive THANK YOU. 👏🐝

Thank you for the time you’ve given up.
Thank you for the energy you’ve poured into it.
Thank you for representing Queensland beekeepers.
And thank you for contributing to our industry at a time when it matters more than ever.

And of course, thank you to every volunteer who gave up their time to help at the stand.

It was fantastic to see beekeepers coming together, catching up, sharing stories, having a laugh and — most importantly — talking to members of the public who may have had absolutely no idea what our industry has been through over the past year.

Every conversation matters.

Every person who walked away understanding Varroa a little better matters.

Every jar of honey tasted matters.

Every story shared matters.

Because this isn’t just about bees.

It’s about Australian agriculture. It’s about food production. It’s about growers. It’s about beekeepers. And ultimately, it’s about all of us.

So today, let’s put the politics, frustration and negativity aside for a moment.

Today is about saying THANK YOU.

To Murray.
To Megan
To every volunteer.
To the QBA.
And to everyone who has stepped forward and contributed.

This is what an industry looks like when people show up for each other. 🐝❤️

And if you’re sitting there thinking, “I’d like to do more. I’d like to be part of this.”

DO IT.

Join the QBA.
Put your hand up.
Volunteer.
Get involved.
Have your voice heard.

Because our industry doesn’t need spectators.

It needs beekeepers who are prepared to stand up and be counted.

See you at the next one. 🐝🇦🇺

09/08/2026

🐝 VARROA UPDATE — WEEK ENDING 9 AUGUST 🐝

Well… spring is certainly starting to look like spring! 🌸🐝

The bees are building, the honey is flowing and the workload in the apiary has more than doubled. But with varroa still lurking in the background, there’s absolutely no room for complacency.

🟢 THE GOOD

The bee build-up is still going strong! 💪🐝

The amount of work going into each hive has probably doubled over the past few weeks. Colonies are expanding rapidly, brood nests are growing and the honey flows around Brisbane are keeping us busy keeping up with the supers.

But spring build-up brings its own challenges.

We’re constantly manipulating brood space, making sure those growing brood clusters have room to expand, keeping colonies balanced and, of course, staying firmly on top of varroa.

The monthly mite-wash routine continues to be a critical part of the program.

🟠 THE BAD

🚨 Varroa has arrived in big numbers around the Gladstone region, according to reports.

And unfortunately, that means the spread is heading further north — and quickly.

Reports of mite drops numbering up to 3,000 are extremely concerning.

To everyone up that way… hang in there. Keep checking, keep washing and don’t assume your bees are safe because the hive next door looks healthy.

Closer to home, we’re also seeing small pockets of elevated mite numbers appearing in areas where we would be expecting things to be settling down.

Our suspicion?

Bees being moved in and out of areas, combined with swarming colonies rebuilding their mite populations, could be creating isolated “mite bombs.” 💣🐝
Unfortunately, we think this may simply become the new normal of Australian beekeeping.

There will always be unmanaged colonies somewhere around you. There will always be swarms. There will always be opportunities for mites to move.

So don’t wait for a problem to show itself.

👉 Stay proactive. Wash your bees. Know your numbers. Treat when necessary. Check again.

We’re also seeing a considerable number of queen issues at the moment — queenless colonies, failing queens and colonies superseding.

We suspect the constant pressure being placed on colonies through repeated treatments, particularly oxalic acid vapourisation and Formic Pro, may be contributing to stress within some colonies.

It means know your colony, watch your queens and understand what your bees are telling you.

🔴 THE UGLY

And then there’s the part that doesn’t involve bees at all…

The silence.

The lack of meaningful support from those who actually have the ability to make a difference — government, MPs and the media — is becoming harder and harder to ignore.

So what can we do?

Don’t stay silent.

📩 Send a letter.
📞 Contact your local MP.
📱 Share the posts.
🗣️ Start conversations.
🐝 Make people aware of what is happening to Australian beekeeping.

Because if we stop talking about it, it’s very easy for everyone else to stop listening.

One beekeeper might be easy to ignore.
Thousands of informed Australians are a different story.

Happy beekeeping everyone!

And as always…

Any useless comments will be treated exactly like AFB…
identified, contained and BURNED. 🔥🐝😂

— The Backyard Beekeeping Team

Rick • Gracie • Steve • Wifey 🐝

Video is a reminder to stay vigilant from AFB and other disease as there are heaps of hives being just left around the place from what we are hearing.

Well… you decide. How did our government decision-makers perform?Following AHBIC’s recent announcement that the Australi...
05/08/2026

Well… you decide. How did our government decision-makers perform?

Following AHBIC’s recent announcement that the Australian Government will provide no support to the beekeeping industry, it’s hard to describe the overwhelming sense of disappointment.

For eight weeks, there were promises that the industry was being heard. Meetings were held. Roundtables were organised. Countless hours were invested.

Danny and the team at AHBIC, industry representatives, beekeepers, and many others worked tirelessly behind the scenes.
I know we had many one-on-one discussions with ministers, constructed detailed action papers, media engagement, and countless conversations aimed at finding a practical path forward and that's been exhausting let alone what AHBIC went through.

And after all of that…

Nothing.

Eight weeks. Tens of thousands of dollars spent on organising meetings and countless hours donated by people who genuinely care about Australia’s food security, pollination, and beekeeping industry.

All for what?

The people who keep bees weren’t asking for handouts. They were asking for leadership, action, and recognition of an industry that underpins billions of dollars in Australian agriculture.

Instead, they’ve been told “No.”

It’s difficult not to wonder what it will actually take for Canberra to understand the scale of this crisis. How many more beekeepers need to walk away? How many more colonies need to be lost before someone finally listens?

The silence speaks louder than the meetings ever did.

Point to note - Tom Smith State Member for Bundaberg did call me today to discuss and has promised to raise our concerns further.

02/08/2026

🚨 🐝 Varroa Update – W/E 2nd August 🐝 🚨

August already! 😳 Ekka month is upon us already - still time to volunteer on the QBA stand id say - get in touch today with the QBA (email - [email protected]) if you want to let people know directly the plight of the beekeepers out there and talk all things bees.

Swarm season is officially in full swing… and for the first time in a long time, seeing a swarm isn’t all bad news!

✅ The Good

There was a time when every beekeeper groaned at the sight of a swarm. Less honey, less productivity and there was always the chance they’d disappear into the great unknown before you could catch them.

But Varroa has changed the game.

As I was catching this swarm, I couldn’t help but think… one oxalic vapour treatment and this little colony could be almost mite-free. 🤯

Instead of spending spring playing catch-up, they’ll likely hit the ground running and could end up stronger than many established colonies.

Amazing how quickly our perspective changes!

────────

🤔 The Bad

Like KFC’s famous 11 secret herbs and spices, it seems our decision-makers also have 11 secret discussion points…

Apparently there were 11 key topics on the table during last week’s roundtable meeting.

Day 35 since the first meeting… and we’re still none the wiser.

We can only assume they’ve classified the information. 🤐

I’d hate to be a stakeholder relying on timely decisions… pun intended. 😉

────────

⚠️ The Ugly

The floodgates have opened…

Bees for sale.
Nucs for sale.
The quick cash grab has begun that a minority of people will do the wrong thing by others..

To the sellers — please do the right thing. Make sure new beekeepers understand Varroa, their responsibilities and what’s involved. Selling bees without educating buyers today could create much bigger problems tomorrow.

To the buyers — purchase from someone with a reputation to protect. Buy from beekeepers who are happy to support you after the sale, not just take your money.

Good beekeeping has never been more important.

────────

That’s it from us this week!

Have a fantastic week, enjoy the bees, and remember…

The useless comments are like fermenting honey… they belong in the bin. 🍯🗑️😂

🐝 The Backyard Beekeeper Team

Rick, Gracie, Stevo & Wifey ❤️

27/07/2026

Great footage...

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