The City of Belmont has invited Mr Cole to share his passion for beekeeping and how to set up a hive at a free seminar at Ruth Faulkner Library on March 20.
Mr Cole’s fascination ignited 35 years ago at a beekeeping night class.
His chance to build hives of his own came two years ago, after he helped a friend capture a wild swarm from a suburban backyard.
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READ NOWTen hives later, Mr Cole has bees across Perth, including at his Winthrop home and a Lesmurdie farm.
His favourite honey comes from suburban hives.
“In the suburbs there are European flowers and lots of different plants. People tend to be house-proud, so their gardens have lots of colour.”
He said the honey was sweeter, lighter-coloured and less viscous than bush or farm varieties, where bees fed on native plants like eucalyptus of the popular jarrah variety.
Mr Cole said pesticides were a problem for bees on farms. “People don’t realise we need bees to pollinate our crops,” he said.
“Without bees you don’t have crops like rice or corn – we won’t have any food.”
Bee populations have declined in Europe and America, though not in WA, which remains disease-free.
Mr Cole warned his hobby was not for the faint-hearted.
“People are horrified when I tell them how many times I’ve been stung.
“Not the first few stings, or few hundred stings, but after a while it’s like there’s some chemical in your body that counteracts the pain,” he said.
Details about Bart the Beekeeper’s free presentation at www.belmont.wa.gov.au/