Northside Beekeepers' Association Inc

10/06/2026

There’s a new column in town from Libees Honey featured in Wavell Heights News.

Libee’ story started right here at Northside Beekeepers. Make sure you follow along with her weekly article to learn more about her story and the challenges in the beekeeping world now Varroa mite is spreading across the country.

05/06/2026

🐝 Varroa Mite Update for Queensland Beekeepers 🐝

Varroa mite continues to spread across Queensland, with detections now confirmed in 23 local government areas, including Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Bundaberg, Noosa and most recently, Agnes Water in Central Queensland.

Recent testing has also confirmed that some varroa populations in Queensland and NSW have developed resistance to commonly used treatments containing amitraz and synthetic pyrethroids. This highlights the importance of using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach rather than relying on a single treatment option.

🔍 What beekeepers should be doing now:
• Monitor hives monthly using alcohol washes.
• Report ALL results through Bee123 - positive and negative results both help track the spread.
• Report any unexpected hive losses, treatment failures, deformed bees or suspect mites immediately.
• Rotate treatment products where appropriate and always follow label directions.
• Conduct hive health checks before moving bees or equipment.
• Practise good biosecurity: “Come clean, leave clean.”

While varroa is now established in several Australian states, early detection and ongoing management remain the best tools we have to protect our colonies. Beekeepers around the world successfully manage varroa and with education, monitoring and good management practices, Australian beekeepers can too.

The Northside Beekeepers Association encourages all beekeepers to stay informed, monitor regularly and support each other as we adapt to this new challenge.

🐝 Remember: Varroa mite remains a notifiable pest in Queensland and must be reported within 24 hours through Bee123.

03/06/2026

19/05/2026

🐝🌏 Happy World Bee Day! 🌏🐝

Today we celebrate not only honey bees but also the incredible diversity of Australian native bees that quietly play a vital role in our environment every single day.

Australia is home to over 2,000 species of native bees and most of them don’t make honey or live in hives! Many are solitary bees, meaning each female builds and provisions her own nest. They can be found nesting in the ground, hollow stems, timber and even tiny cracks around the garden.

Some amazing native bee facts:
🐝 Blue-banded bees can “buzz pollinate” crops like tomatoes by vibrating flowers to release pollen.
🐝 Stingless native bees produce small amounts of delicious honey and are excellent pollinators.
🐝 Many native bees are tiny, some only 2mm long!
🐝 Australian native bees pollinate our bushland, native plants and many food crops.
🐝 Native bees are generally very gentle and unlikely to sting.

Bees are essential for biodiversity, healthy ecosystems and food production. Around one-third of the food we eat relies on pollination, and without bees our environment would look very different.

How you can help native bees:
🌼 Plant native flowering plants
💧 Provide shallow water sources
🚫 Reduce pesticide use
🏡 Leave some natural habitat like hollow stems, bare ground and old timber
👷Build native habitats and leave in your garden
🌿 Support local beekeepers and conservation efforts

This World Bee Day, take a moment to appreciate the tiny pollinators doing the hard work behind the scenes every day. Every bee matters! 🐝💛

Share your photos in the comments and show your appreciation for our amazing friends, the Bees.

03/05/2026

What a fantastic day at our Biosecurity Session (relocated to Old Petrie Town due to weather)! 🐝

The focus was clear, be proactive, not reactive. Strong biosecurity starts with good habits, and record keeping is absolutely vital to staying on top of hive health.

We covered the importance of knowing your notifiable pests and diseases and how early detection can make all the difference. A real highlight was hearing our mentors share their origin stories, plenty of laughs and a great reminder that everyone starts somewhere.

The key takeaway? Use your senses.
Look closely, feel what’s happening in the hive, and even trust your sense of smell, they’re powerful tools in identifying healthy (or struggling) colonies.

To top it off, some members continued the learning with in-hive inspections, putting knowledge straight into practice.

Thanks to everyone who came along and contributed to such an engaging and valuable day. A massive thank you to Biosecurity Queensland for their support to maintain the education our community.

01/05/2026

🚨 QUEENSLAND BEEKEEPERS - WE NEED YOU! 🚨
The Bee Biosecurity Survey is live and this is our chance to shape how Queensland responds to varroa mite.

💥 We need as many beekeeper responses as we can.
💥 It takes just a few minutes.
💥 Closes 15 May 2026.

Your voice = better info, better support, better decisions for our industry.

👉 Take the survey.
👉 Share it with your networks.
👉 Pass it to every beekeeper you know.

Let’s show how strong and united our beekeeping community really is.
🐝💪 Step up. Speak up. Protect our bees.

01/05/2026

What a fantastic turnout at our General Meeting last night, thank you to everyone who came along and helped fill the room with energy, curiosity and great conversation. Our club is at its best when we come together like that.

A huge thank‑you to Dr Diana Leemon for her incredible presentation. Her depth of knowledge, her passion for fungi and bees, and the way she brings science to life left us all buzzing. It was a real privilege to have her with us.

Now we roll straight into another big day, our Bee Biosecurity Day is on tomorrow and we can’t wait to see everyone back again for hands‑on learning, hive health skills and a great morning together.

See you there for another brilliant day of beekeeping and community. 🐝💛

29/04/2026

Northside beekeepers will be running the honey court again this year. Every year since 1984.

29/04/2026

Please take this seriously!
See latest industry update around synthetic chemical resistances in Varroa Mites.

29th April 2026 What We Know Varroa synthetic chemical resistance detections have been laboratory confirmed and considered established broadly across NSW and southern QLD. It is no longer considered geographically […]