Splitting logs and stealing honey

About three years ago I got my hands on a log containing a nest of the Australian native stingless bee Austroplebeia australis. A native of the tropical parts of Queensland, this bee is not usually found as far south as here in Sydney. Regardless of this, three years on the colony is still going strong, so I decided it was about time I played around with it a bit....

Dad , me and our trusty log.

I came up with a design for an observation hive with three separate interconnected compartments; one for the brood cluster, and two for the numerous honey and pollen pots created by the bees. With that in mind my dad set to work, the end result being the following....

The box design

Not bad at all! Now for the easy part.... collecting all the bees and their various hive components and placing them into their new home.

Entrance hole

The more astute of you will have noticed that the entrance hole to the colony is rather small. If we want to get to the tasty goodness inside, we are going to have to try a different route.

Batumen layer

The top of my log was originally sealed with a small metal sheet. Upon removal we discovered the bees had erected their own barrier as well. This dark plug is known as a batumen layer. In this species it is constructed using a mixture of cerumen and resin. The plug traps heat, as well as keeping nasty animals such as ourselves out.

Pretty darn thick!

Tough luck little guys, our hive-tool beats your batumen layer hands down.....

Splitting the log

After sailing the giddy high from our victory over the batumen layer, we set to work trying to crack open the log.

Success...... sort of....

They don't call gumtrees hard wood because it sounds cool, this log is one tough mother!

Smashed honey pots.

In our hast to split her in two, we accidentally crush a section of honey pots.

Intact honey pots at the base of the log

This is what they should have looked like..... sorry guys!

Profile of the split log.

After a further 30 minutes or so of backbreaking labour (not depicted) we manage to split right down through the entirety of the log. To our surprise we found it brimming with stores...... we are going to need more containers....

Pooting up bees.

Like rats from a sinking ship, the little black bees start poring out from their ruptured home. Luckily, they are unable to fly in the darkness so I quickly suck them up in my pooter before they can disappear into the night.

Lots of honey!

More honey! The taste is sweeter and more citrousy than regular honey, and has a strong, pleasant lemon-like smell.

Darker honey pots to the left, bright yellow pollen pots to the tight.

Pollen cells are similar in shape, but lighter in colour. Both honey and pollen cells are extremely fragile, the lightest tough makes them fall apart and spill their contents.

Brood cells 

Towards the bottom of the log I find the most important section of the colony, the brood cells. Lurking somewhere amongst them is the queen bee. Her abdomen is so distended with eggs that she is unable to fly, but instead waddles from empty cell to empty cell, laying more and more eggs.

Isolated brood cells

A close-up of some of the brood cells. If you look closely you can see some of the diminutive worker bees. They are jet black in colour and only approx. 2mm in length. The brood cells are surrounded by a sheet of cerumen known as involucrum. This layer is thought to help keep the developing bees warm.

Brood safely in my special brood chamber.

With as much tenderness as is possible with a metal hive tool, I scraped out the brood cells and placed them in my custom-made perspex brood chamber.

The end result

After a few hours of scraping we came away with at least 2 kilos of honey and pollen, as well as 1000s of little worker bees. Like the prison systems of central america, my original three observation hive sections were filled to overflowing. To compensate I made three larger makeshift containers which I connected to my original set-up with plastic tubing. Pictured in all it's glory is the final product. For those who are wondering the observation hive is kept in a permanently dark temperature controlled room.

Azzie looking guilty as usual

The final, and arguably most important job of licking the colony's old log clean was given to my parents dog Azzie. It was a tough job, but he didn't once flinch from his duties.

Next post I will try and get some nice macro shots of the queen and worker bees, so stay tuned folks!......