WAYNE Ead's money is on honey, writes SARAH HUDSON

Wayne Ead knows only too well that people get in a flap about bees.

Wayne, a beekeeping hobbyist for 30 years, has two hives in his Bendigo backyard and up to 30 on a property at Talbot, near Maryborough.

"My wife jokes she'll leave me if I don't get rid of them," he says.

"My kids aren't overly impressed with them either. They sometimes help me out, but one of them is allergic to bees. And you've got to consider the neighbours too."

But Wayne, who is also a local policeman, will not contemplate giving up his hives.

"No, I've never thought about it," he says.

"I keep the bees away from the kids in a corner of the backyard where they won't annoy or hurt anyone and I make sure they've got plenty of water.

"It's the lure of them and the fact they chase the honey and seeing them fly in with pollen on their legs."

It's thanks to his uncle that Wayne's fascination with bees developed.

As an 18-year-old, he would visit his uncle on the family property at Talbot and eventually his uncle gave Wayne his 30 hives.

"Extracting honey is one of my strongest memories," he says. "Since then I've always had my own hives.

"I'm often called by locals to catch swarms in their backyard and I bring them home. It's a community service and I'm on the council's list."

He extracts up to 60kg of honey a year and says a day is not complete if it's not started with honey on toast for breakfast, with his favourite variety being red or yellow gum.

"Of course a lot of my honey is garden variety; bees do very well in suburban areas," he says.

Wayne, a member of the Victorian Apiarists Association (Bendigo), advises anyone thinking about becoming a beekeeper to do a TAFE course, ideally follow a commercial keeper, and join a local club.

Hobbyists must check with their local council on local laws and register with the Department of Primary Industries.

"It's not an easy hobby to take up," he says. "There's a lot to learn - tree identification, understanding the seasons, bee diseases, how to maintain your hives and extraction.

"You've got to develop your confidence handling them.

"And, yeah, I've been stung plenty of times. If I'm not stung for a while I will swell up but if I'm stung regularly my immunity builds up and I don't swell. But it still hurts."

  • Victorian Apiarists Association ph: (03) 5446 1455 or Bendigo Victorian Apiarists Association ph: (03) 5472 2161.