The Southern Beekeepers Association: Toowoomba & Surrounds

08/04/2026

Let your hive thrive.

Hive inspections are key to the early detection of exotic bee pests and the reporting of high priority established pests. Visit beepestblitz.com.au for access to surveillance resources.

Got Hives? Check your bees Scroll to Explore About Bee Pest Blitz With over 42,700 registered beekeepers who own approximately 820,000 hives, keeping Australia’s honey bee population healthy is no mean feat. 42700registered beekeepers 820000beehives Despite Australia’s geographic location,.....

05/04/2026

Check out these posters from our bee information centre at the Jondaryan Woolshed. Pretty cool hey !

04/04/2026

Have you visited the Jondaryan Woolshed recently ?
Down at the back of the site, next to the model train rides, is our club’s beekeeping display hut. This is where we operate our little shop, selling honey & bee products.

Just look at the recent revamp of our shop, with its sunning displays. Thank you to those club members who were involved. Excellent job !

Over Easter we are opening up real hives to safely teach people how to extract honey. Come along on Easter Sunday morning, before 1pm.

09/03/2026

Autumn Club Newsletter

18/02/2026

FREE VARROA WORKSHOPS / FIELD DAYS

If you would like to attend free Varroa training during March, please answer these few simple questions and we will send you further details:

https://form.jotform.com/260337808604862

You don’t have to be a club member to attend.

12/02/2026

TERRIBLE NEWS - VARROA RESISTANCE TO PYRETHROIDS IN NSW

Biosecurity testing of varroa mites in NSW has revealed the mites have mutated to become resistant to the some of the best treatments for varroa in Australia.

It is unbelievable that Australian beekeepers have not learnt from countries like the USA and NZ, where varroa has developed resistance to chemical treatments, because beekeepers there kept using the same chemical over and over. We have commercial beekeepers in NSW posting on social media to just “keep using Bayvarol. It is easy and it works.”

If mites develop resistance to one particular chemical treatment, like Bayvarol, they are also resistant to all other chemicals in that same class, like Apistan.

If you are a beekeeper in the Toowoomba region you can attend a free workshop to learn about the Resistance Management Plan, that our club has developed. If we can’t prevent resistance, more of our hives will die. We could end up like America, where there are no longer many backyard beekeepers.

To attend a varroa workshop, please answer these questions and we’ll book your spot and send you full details.

https://form.jotform.com/260337808604862

873 apiaries have now detected varroa infections. You do not need to be a club member to join these free workshops. Do you know how to find out if your hive(s) have varroa mites ? Join us to learn.

https://honeybee.org.au/ahbic-industry-biosecurity-update-resistantmites/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAP6iFpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xNzM4NDc2NDI2NzAzNzAAAR789Yi33kIvMiIUAfB-Buw1cW9YeRuS47Jw4ugpAOmCClcCOkt7PiVOHXDO5A_aem_j6QKKLqpY8dK3Q3LXboluw

08/02/2026

This state government grant is enabling us to run workshops and hands-on field days for any beekeepers in the Toowoomba region. You don’t have to be a club member, or even a registered beekeeper, to come to learn how to ensure your hive(s) survive varroa.

Send a message to learn more

07/02/2026

WANT TO LEARN HOW TO MANGE VARROA IN YOUR HIVE(S) ?

Do you live close enough to Toowoomba to attend a morning Workshop followed by an afternoon hands-on session using our club hives ?

Workshop dates are:
* Thursday, 19th March 2026
* Saturday, 21st March 2026

This training is sponsored by the Queensland Government and is open to all beekeepers from Dalby to Plainland, Warwick to Kingaroy. You don’t even have to be a registered beekeeper to attend.

To book your spot, please submit your answers to these questions:

https://form.jotform.com/260337808604862

We will then send you full details of time, place & what to bring.

If you haven’t learnt how to help your hive to survive, you’ll probably see it die from a small hive beetle slime out. But that won’t be the real cause !

31/01/2026

ENTER YOUR HONEY IN THE TOOWOOMBA ROYAL SHOW

Entries Close Wednesday, 11th March 2026 at 5pm.

Online entries only: https://showday.online/show/rasqtoowoombashow

Deliver your entries to the Honey Court at the Toowoomba Royal Showgrounds on Sunday, 22nd March 2026, between 12 noon and 2pm.

Tips for if you want to win:
1. Use fresh honey;
2. Fill two 500g glass jars for each entry, with white screw-top lids, to 6mm from the top edge of the glass;
3. Jar the honey now, so that any air bubbles have time to disappear.

See this website for full details:

https://www-011.clevvi.com.au/fileadmin/html_templates/rasq/images/2026_Apiculture_Schedule_-_FINAL.pdf

23/01/2026

HOW TO REGISTER AS A BEEKEEPER

It is a requirement under the Biosecurity Regulations 2016 that beekeepers are registered and that each beekeeper has a unique Hive identification Number (HIN). This “brand” must be applied to your hive(s) in such a way that it can not be easily removed. You must be registered before you get your bees.

If you have never registered before, you will need to:

1. complete the account registration process to create a customer record;
2. set up your online account once you receive an email from Biosecurity Qld;
3. log into the portal to lodge your application for registration. This can be done using the 'New Registration' item in the top menu bar;
4. Pay any applicable fee at the end. There is no fee for amateur beekeepers.

This is particularly important now we are facing the varroa invasion.

https://biosecurityregistration.dpi.qld.gov.au/SignIn

We are currently experiencing a high number of registration applications which has resulted in a delay in processing NEW applications. If you have applied for an RBE and require it for trade in the next 7 days – please email [email protected] If you have not yet applied for a new registration and...

22/01/2026

At our January 26 club meeting we had a very interesting presentation about how to treat hives for varroa without using chemicals. This device uses heat and humidity control to kill the varroa inside the capped cells, without harming the bees. This website link even shows you where you can hire one.

Members from all over the Southern Downs watched from the comfort of their homes using Zoom.

Varroa Controller - VC03 StandardThe Varroa Controller Standard accommodates 20 frames with a height of up to 27cm.It has wheels on the back for easy manouvering.Size: 108x62x55cmWeight: 40kgPower: 600WAUD 7,220 incl GSTShipping not included Varroa Controller - VC03 MiniThe ...