Dansar Bees

27/04/2026

Secrets of the Bees on Disney+ is amazing for its photography. I’ve just start S1:E1 The Hive.

24/04/2026

I’ve been quiet for a while. Life, health, work. All have been pretty time consuming. But you know me, I can’t stay away from the beekeeping world indefinitely!
Things are brewing down at the “home apiary”.

Stay tuned, because if I can make this work it will be epic!

11/12/2025

This is the last summer of bees at CCT lavender for me. Health and other commitments have made me reconsider what’s important in life. (It was a hard decision, bees are like a drug for me). There’s still plenty of lavender honey available at the farm cafe, so go and get a few jars for yourself and friends.
The cafe’ and lavender fields are open for this amazing summer.
These little insects continue to amaze me at how they can thrive on the minimum of care. I guess the key is having the right knowledge and understanding to “read the hive”.
This account will likely become very quiet 🤫 after this season. But you never know, the withdrawal symptoms may be too much to cope with and a hive or two will creep in to the back yard!

Enjoy your summer all my friends, past beekeeping students and followers.

Dan the bee man aka Dansar bees 🐝

19/07/2025

Wattle is flowering, Gorse is flowering. Time start stimulating hives if you want to split any for spring or get those queen rearing hives stronger.

01/04/2025

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bee-deaths-food-supply-stability-honeybees/

Bees play a key role in the U.S. food supply, and the mass deaths could jeopardize that.

28/03/2025

Heavy load to lift for my short helpers.😊
Lavender honey off to the extraction plant. Lots of driving today.

27/03/2025

27/03/2025

Lavender Farm hives disease checked. Escape boards in. Tomorrow pulling honey supers off and varroa treatments in.
Hives are still huge in bee numbers, Drones present. The paddocks all around are dry with hardly any wild flowers like previous years.
Lavender farm has harvested all the flowers in preparation for essential oil extraction.
I have 15 hives here. 3 swarmed and didn’t really recover to be strong enough for surplus honey harvest.
Pretty happy overall though. My back tells be that I’ll get about 650kg from the 12 hives that I’m taking honey off of. There’s a bit more there but it’s better to leave it for the bees for winter feed.

10/12/2024

All of my Hoya are flowering. Early Summer, New Zealand.
- Hoya Carnosa. A cutting from by Nana’s plant (original plant probably well over 60 years old)
- Hoya Red Buttons
- Hoya Obovata
- Hoya Bella

Actually… there are 4 more different ones too. But they haven’t flowered yet.

06/12/2024

The bees are happy at CCT Lavender Farm. Honey boxes are filling up fast, even running out of room in some. Swarm cells in a couple of hives.
Glad to be out of the heat enjoying a coffee and eggs beni before heading home.
See you in a few weeks bees 👋

28/09/2024

Dirty camera lens made pics smudged but great day on the farm.