> I’m reading the news (with visuals) about the devastating conflagrations in Australia and wondering about the impact on apiculture there. Is there any information to report in this regard? Trevor?
Thanks for enquiring Peter.
Fires still continue to burn and occasionally I hear of beekeepers who have not been able to get hives out in time. When we get final figures I expect that it will be in the thousands lost. We have fronts coming thorough about every five days and the temperatures rise up to the high 30's centigrade. Penrith to the west of Sydney had 48.9 centigrade a day or so back. These fronts have winds from the north east or north west winds in front and as the front goes through the winds come from the south . Winds speeds regularly 50 kph but gust can be up to 90. Most of the fires are in inaccessible country or country where firebreaks will be ineffective due to spotting ahead of the fire front. Sometimes spot overs are going several kilometres. So fighting these types is not easy and you don't want to get caught between the main front and a spot over.
The biggest loss will be the trees that have burned. Over a million hectares (2.4 million acres) so far and this will rise dramatically over the next week or so. Depending on the ferocity of the fire it can take from 5 to 40 years for these trees to again flower. Some may never come back and it will be up to seedlings to grow to replace the burnt trees. All we need is rain which does not seem to be on the forecasts.
The fires will affect the number of hives available for almond pollination and the ability to get hives up to strength for pollination. Also on top of the drought honey production will be well below average for Australia. Some pockets will do well but overall the picture is not good.
On top of this I saw today of hives being stolen. There are some grubs out there.
Thanks for thinking of us.
Trevor Weatherhead
Australia
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