On Saturday, 1 October, at the El Arish Tavern conducted the Cassowary Coast Branch held our AGM, followed by an interesting presentation on brood by Suzanne Muzic.
Our branch Annual General Meeting
The AGM followed the usual process to establish a new management committee. New holders of positions are:
Chair and ANBA Rep: Liz Lang
Secretary: Sandy Ferris
Treasurer: Deirdre Holmes
Congratulations and thank you to people who have volunteered to hold positions on our committee for 22/23. We are looking forward to the next 12 months of adventures and experiences with our native bees.
Attendees L to R: Carol, Nadine and Michael, Sue and Bert, Jeannie, Bob, Kylie, and Jane with the new committee trio: Liz, Deirdre and Sandy standing at the back.
SUE’S PRESENTATION.
After our AGM, Sue presented a very informative session about native stingless bee brood discussing the life cycle of a bee from the queen filling a cell to the end of life, types of brood structure according to species, what brood cells are made of and how the cell changes throughout the hatching process. Sue explaining life stages and showing the various stages of brood in her hive.
At the end of her presentation, Sue provided 2 hives for viewing and tested us by asking us to identify the species in the hives by looking at the brood structure and the bees in each hive. Both hives were the same species with one hive being relatively new and the other well established and several years old.
The bees were very large, about 4mm, but the volume of brood was relatively small, about 1 L in the established hive and less in the newer hive. Hence, we concluded that we were viewing Tetragonula sapiens.
We were also very lucky to have a digital microscope on hand, thanks to Michael Dunne, which added a whole other dimension to what we could see in the hives.
Many thanks to Sue for her informative presentation, Michael and his digital microscope, Jane for the photos and all those who made the effort to attend our AGM.
From: Liz Lang, Secretary / Treasurer
Cassowary Coast Native Bee Association Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1703605019824793/
