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Cormac Farrell

@jagungal1

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Environmental scientist & head beekeeper, Australian Parliament. Trying to cram beekeeping, jujitsu, flyfishing and love of cooking into one life :-)

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It has been a tough few years for the Australian Parliament #bees, so it was so nice to see some decent frames of honey in the hives!

I am four weeks post abdominal surgery, so my mate Jon Darville was doing all the heavy lifting! by @jagungal1

Unboxing the authors copy for my first book. What a surreal and emotional experience.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me with this - literally years in the making, but now a real book that I can hold in my hands. #bookstagram #bees #beekeeping #sustainability by @jagungal1

The life of an urban beekeeper - after a day of brutal gale force winds, all of the hives are still upright and OK, even my tall rooftop hives. Construction weights FTW!!! by @jagungal1

Yesterday was a quick check of the @parliamenthousecanberra #beehives
All hives powering along thanks to the spring blossoms, even if the dreaded Varroa mite are still infecting the brood. The mite treatment cycles and a good season is allowing the #bees to stay ahead of the mites for now.
It was good news all round - the hive that was queenless last inspection used the frame of eggs we gave them to raise a new queen, and they are back on track, with a new queen who is laying beautifully!
#beekeeping #spring #honey by @jagungal1

by @jagungal1

The @parliamenthousecanberra hives were really active today - and no wonder, there is a smorgasbord of blossom out at the moment! #bees #beekeeping by @jagungal1

One of my favourite things to do - teaching new #beekeepers how to care for their #bees by @jagungal1

Travelling for work for the past few weeks, but put in a Varroa treatment on the home hive before I left.
Just a few mites showing on the bottom tray 😬
#bees #beekeeping by @jagungal1

Week one of the EPBC Roadshow done - loving the incredible landscapes between Longreach and Mt Isa!
Still one week on the road to go! by @jagungal1

by @jagungal1

Some good news: the #bees at @parliamenthousecanberra are being impacted by the influx of the parasitic Varroa mite, but we are having some success with treatment.
We planned this out carefully, using drone trapping frames to strip thousands of mites out of the hives, and then hitting the remainder with a rotating schedule of organic acid and thyme oil treatments.
We have seen mite levels drop from 30+ per sample 2-3 mites, which is survivable for the colonies.
Still a long way to go, but the bees are hanging in there! by @jagungal1

Inspecting the @parliamenthousecanberra beehives yesterday after work - lots of nectar coming in, one hive missing a queen (gave them a frame of eggs and brood to help them raise one) and all colonies still alive!
Best news was that the Oxalic acid strips seem to be doing a good job protecting the #bees from Varroa - mite counts in the hives with strips now below threshold. by @jagungal1