WHEN Fremantle mayoral aspirant Mark Woodcock opens one of his hives, he doesn’t just see bees – he sees the survival of fruit trees, food crops and even a community of nervous first-time apiarists trying to find their way.

Mark is a beekeeper with a mission. He’s as comfortable asking probing questions from the gallery in a council meeting as he is in a bee suit, but it’s the hives that really fire him up.

“The whole idea is, is that when someone new comes into it, they just say, where they live, and then the group will look around, say, look, call this person this lady, she’s been doing it for 10 years’ experience. Or this guy has been doing it for five years, and years, and he’s doing well,” he says.

Mark’s talking about the local Bee Buddy Group, a subdivision of the WA Apiarists’ Society, which connects new beekeepers with old hands. He’s often on the other end of that phone call, offering practical advice and the occasional pep talk.

“So it just gives them someone to call, instead of being scared to go and look at the hive. You don’t want people who have a hive and then go, I don’t know what to do. I’m freaking out.”

A nervous buzz

Bees, he explains, can pick up on a keeper’s nerves in an instant.

“When you get nervous, the bees can sense it, and all the people who are nervous just suddenly become covered. 

“And you watch them, the back of their head and their actual back will just have a huge pile of bees, and the bees are attracted by that pheromone. 

“Pheromones are what bees use to communicate.”

That’s why Mark is a big advocate for training and registration.

“You’ve got to register your hive. And I mean, 100 per cent you should go and get some basic training.”

There’s good reason to be careful. 

In Western Australia there are more than 4500 registered hobby and professional beekeepers, with upwards of 50,000 hives, including more than 4000 hobbyists in the Perth metropolitan area alone. 

The WA Apiarists’ Society has over 1200 members, making it one of the state’s liveliest and most hands-on associations.

Why bees matter

And that’s why knowing what you’re doing is critical, so an amateur keeper doesn’t introduce disease into the wider population. 

It’s not just a quirky pastime; it’s a backbone of the food chain.

“Everyone says, oh, we should be more self-sufficient. 

“Well, if you’ve got a European fruit tree, guess what? You need a bee. 

“Without the bee, your pollination will drop 60 per cent in some cases, for some plants, so you get two thirds less fruit you don’t have. 

“And also you’ll find the fruit will be smaller.”

The almond industry knows this too well. 

Drought in South Australia has left growers scrambling, and this year more than 600 hives had to be trucked in from Western Australia just to keep orchards pollinated. Keeping WA’s bee population safe means they’ll not be able to return.

Mark says Western Australia is in a unique position globally.

“WA is the cleanest place in the world for bees, and it is now one of the biggest spaces that exports queens around the world.”

That purity – free from devastating parasites like varroa mite – is one reason WA honey and queen bees are in demand.

The tech edge

But Mark isn’t just keeping bees the old-fashioned way. His hives are wired up with wi-fi technology, letting him monitor activity remotely.

He uses sensors to keep track of weight, humidity and hive temperature, with data beamed back to his phone or laptop. It means he can spot when a colony is building up to swarm, or when something’s going wrong, without always cracking open the hive.

For someone juggling a mayoral campaign, raising a family and a job, remote monitoring can be a game-changer. 

The bees get less stress, and Mark gets peace of mind.

The technology is also a teaching tool. 

New keepers can see the numbers, graphs and alerts in real time, learning how a healthy hive behaves before they even put on a veil. It’s a far cry from the old method of guesswork and sticky fingers.

Swarm season

Mark says spring is always the busiest time, when colonies expand and swarms split off to find new homes.

“The queen normally leaves with most of the workers, and the younger bees sort of stay behind,” he says.

“That’s why swarms aren’t dangerous, right? 

“Because when a bee is full of honey, it can’t bring its tail around to sting because its glands are full of the honey that it’s moving to the next place.”

He tells people not to panic if they see a cluster hanging off a tree branch. Instead, call the WA Apiarists’ Society, which can dispatch a keeper to collect and rehouse the swarm.

A community network

Mark’s involvement goes beyond tending his own hives. He’s part of a network that stretches across backyards, schools and community gardens.

Bee Buddy has become a lifeline for new keepers. With so many hives now popping up across Perth suburbs, he says having an experienced mentor is critical to keeping things safe and sustainable.

“When you get someone to talk to, suddenly you’re not alone.

“You’ve got support. You’ve got someone you can ask: ‘My hive’s a bit quiet, should I be worried?’ or ‘I saw a queen cell, what do I do?’”

He often reminds people that bees aren’t just a hobby – they’re part of the food system.

“When people eat an apple, they don’t think about the bee that made it possible,” he says.