Not only do these insects give us beeswax, and honey - a tasty and healthy ingredient for our tables and kitchen with recognised medical benefits - they also provide a free pollination service for our plants. In fact it is estimated that this service alone is worth $1 billion in Australia, per annum, let me repeat that! One billion dollars!
Have you
ever thought – how our agriculture industry, our parks, and our gardens will
survive let alone thrive once the devastating Varroa Mite gets to our
shores? As the world we live in rapidly shrinks it’s not a question of
“if it will get here" but a question of “when it will get
here". The mite is a parasite that feeds on the brood (baby bees),
it decimates colonies quickly, deforming the bees and demoralising
hives. The Varroa Mite has already devastated over 50% of the
world’s bee colonies.
Without bees, how will
pollination occur? By hand? Surely one of the outcomes is that the price of
food will increase, another the bee breeders exporting bees to other countries
will be affected as their stock is attacked and of course our beautiful gardens
will have fewer workers pollinating.
Once again
we are a lucky country, distance giving us an advantage over other
countries. Distance has given us time. In anticipation there
are many committed to building up our bee colonies. The industry is
committed to strengthening bee numbers. Many small businesses based in
urban areas are emerging to meet this challenge.
Melbourne Rooftop Honey
What started
out as a part-time hobby for Vanessa Kwiatkowski and Mat Lumalasi in 2010, is
now a full time business re-homing and managing unwanted colonies and
swarms to city roof spaces and suburban backyards. Their passion and
commitment to save these hardworking, industrious creatures, which play a vital
role in our food production, has not only found rewards such as sweet honey for
sale but also increased awareness amongst the population of the benefits bees
bring. Vanessa and Matt believe that public interest in
sustainability, local food production and issues of pollination - as well as
love for honey bees and their welfare – contributes to a sense of community.
Rooftop
Honey now has over 57 hives in Melbourne, including 10 currently being
installed at Federation Square, and a waiting list of 350 names.
Other businesses around the country are emerging with the same objective: to
build Australia’s bee colonies in preparation for the invasion.
Some little interesting facts about Rooftop Honey’s
Hives. https://sevencanaries.com.au/articles/what-is-the-value-of-bees-pollination-honey-varroa-mite/
- Each hive houses about 40 to 50 thousand bees – that’s a lot of babies to care for.
- The hives will be less active during the cooler months, from about April to September.
- During hibernation, they don’t feed their bees sugar syrup and harvest all their honey - the bees eat only their own honey
- The lid will only be raised when the temperatures reach 18 degrees, with no wind or rain, and will be checked every 10 days.
- They check the brood (babies), monitor the queen and how she is laying. They also ensure there is enough room for swarm control, and take honey off the hive if necessary.
- The honey, depending on the environmental factors, will be harvested two to three times from September to April.
Is there a Sydneyrooftop Honey?
