This is a proof of concept project running from July 2024 to June 2025.
If we monitor hive weights from a wide range of areas can we get an indication of general conditions for bees.
We are monitoring 42 colonies from Port Macquarie NSW to Mackay Qld. This is a small amount of colonies to see how manageable the concept is and what kind of results do we see. If we have some success this could be expanded in coming years.
The weight in the chart is displayed as the total combined box weight including box and colony. It’s a much simpler way as we don’t need to know the empty box weight. There are many box designs with different materials and shapes so boxes tend to be very different in weight, anything from 3kg to 15kg empty. All we’re looking for is the total box weight each month.
What is weight an indicator of? Mainly resources. 1. Honey, 2. Pollen, 3. Resin structures, 4. Brood, 5. Bees
Generally if we see an increase in weight it’s an indicator that the colony is going well gathering resources and increasing in strength. We would expect to see weight losses during winter and hopefully great increases in the warmer months.
Hive health? While weight is not the only indicator of hive health it is a factor. This project is mainly looking at resources gathered.
What’s the purpose of this? By monitoring colonies in different areas we may get an indication of how stingless bees are doing over time. Who knows, there may be a surprising outcome.
Other outcomes? As this is a proof of concept, we’ll see some success or we may also see reasons why this doesn’t work and we should always asses our methods. Projects like this have the potential to reveal some interesting information.
The chart below will be updated every month. (and occasionally on the socials). This may get a bit chaotic with all the lines so we could separate out different species or locations to show different results.
Once you have your allocated hive numbers you can use the submit form
