Dilan's Apiary

20/05/2026

Happy World Bee Day

07/05/2026

Celebrating my 12th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

07/05/2026

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT | Italian stingless, honey bees expert to lead int'l platform at CTU Tuburan

Prof. Giorgio Venturieri is leaving Australia for sessions with researchers, beekeepers, agricultural stakeholders, faculty and students at the International Symposium on Stingless and Honey Bees 2026 at Cebu Technological University (CTU) Tuburan.

Apart from demonstrating his lifework on stingless bee species and pollination systems, Prof. Ventureiri will significantly streamline how these pollinators support crop production such as açaí which is cultivated in parts of South America.

The University of Sunshine Coast academic, who also has multiple connections in Brazil, encouraged CTU Internationalization and ASEAN Integration (IAI) Director Dr. Rhodora Magan in a dialog yesterday to promote açaí as one of the institution's research agenda.

Read full story: https://www.ctu.edu.ph/2026/05/italian-stingless-honey-bees-expert-to-lead-intl-platform-at-ctu-tuburan/

14/04/2026

Sharing

There are growing fears that a second varroa mite strain could enter Australia, as beekeepers lose key chemical options for controlling the tiny parasites of honey bees.

07/03/2026

27/01/2026

MATING PROCESS IN HONEY BEE 🐝

1️⃣ Queen’s Mating Flight
-A young queen (5–7 days old) leaves the hive on a mating flight.
-She flies to special areas in the sky called Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs).

2️⃣ Drones Chase the Queen
-Hundreds of drone bees (male bees) from many different colonies gather there.
-Drones are attracted by the queen’s pheromones.
-The strongest and fastest drones catch her mid-air.

3️⃣ Mating in the Air
-Mating happens while flying.
-One drone mates with the queen and releases s***m.

❗ The drone’s endophallus breaks off — the drone dies immediately after mating.

4️⃣ Multiple Mating
-The queen mates with 10–20 drones (sometimes more) during one or several flights.
-This increases genetic diversity in the colony.

5️⃣ S***m Storage
-The queen stores millions of s***m in a special organ called the s***matheca.
-She uses this s***m for her entire life (2–5 years).

6️⃣ Back to the Hive
-After mating, the queen returns to the hive.
-In 2–3 days, she begins laying fertilized eggs (workers & queens).
-Unfertilized eggs become drones.

🧠 Key Facts
📌Worker bees do not mate.
📌Drones exist mainly for mating purposes.
📌A queen mates only once in her lifetime.

18/01/2026

Did you know you can identify the type of honeybee just by looking at its body shape?

*1. Queen Bee
Long and elegant! She has a long abdomen with a sharp V-shaped tip and her main job is laying eggs to keep the colony growing.

*2. Drone Bee*
Big and bold! He has a broad body, flat rounded bottom, and large eyes. His only mission? Mating with the queen.

*3. Worker Bee*
Small but mighty! Slim body, clearly segmented abdomen, and she does everything—foraging, nursing, guarding, and cleaning the hive.

*👉 Why this matters:*
Spotting these differences helps with queen identification, colony inspections, and better hive management.

Which one you will not miss to spot when you open your hive?

05/01/2026

Beekeeping Life in NSW, Australia

15/06/2025