Now in the State Executive of the association, he said that World Honeybee Day on August 21, was a great opportunity for residents to consider setting up their own backyard hive.
Not a native Australian bee, which are stingless, honeybees were introduced in the early colony to pollinate the European crops and according to Bruce, it was not long before we were exporting honey back to England.
Over 2,000 species of native bees produce a thinner but just as tasty and nutritious honey in yields of 200 or 300 grams, while the same number of honeybees will produce 30 or 40 kilograms a year.
“However, there is no competition between them; they could go to the same flower but the result will always be different because of the different enzymes in their bodies,” Bruce said.
“There’s a lot of Brushbox around Auburn which reward bees with honey every year but 70 per cent of the honey in our shops comes from Eucalypts.
“Bees are the perfect renewable resource and if they’re not there to collect the nectar, it just goes to waste.”
Encouraging everyone with a backyard to give bees a go, Bruce says it’s a fantastic interest especially in retirement, you’ll be helping the environment and you’ll never have to buy honey again.
“Check out a local club, they’ve all got beehives, and learn about it first,” Bruce said.
“There’s over 4,000 Beekeeper Association members in NSW, with numbers booming.”
