Q. I treat my hives regularly and follow the manufacturers’ instructions to the letter. Is it really necessary to test for [varroa] mites? A. While checking for American foulbrood (AFB) is a legal obligation, checking for varroa is not. Some say that it is an absolutely essential beekeeping tool, while others don’t think it [...]
Q: What good are drones in my hive? Do they just eat stores and help mites? Should I remove them? A: There are between a few hundred to a couple of thousand drones in a hive during the summer. Many people think of them as freeloaders that consume stores and don’t contribute anything for [...]
Q. A neighbour has some old hiveware in a barn that he doesn’t want. What is the best way to deal with it? Ken Brown is President of the Auckland Beekeepers’ Club and a Land Based Training Apiculture Tutor (Disclaimer: I am an AP2; these opinions are my own and not those of the [...]
Q. Is bee pollen at risk of tutin contamination, or does tutin only affect honey? Dr Linda Newstrom-Lloyd is a Trees for Bees botanist. A. The green parts and the sap of the tutu plant contain tutin, a neurotoxin, that is harmful to mammals, but bees are unaffected. The tutin toxin is not expressed in [...]
Q. Is there an aphid (or another bug) that lives on mānuka and secretes a honeydew that is active? Dr Ronald van Toor is a Senior Scientist at Plant and Food Research, working in bioprotection. A. I am aware of only three scale insects that excrete excess sap sugars in mānuka sufficient to [...]
20 February 2024 New Zealand Honey Strategy resets industry ambitions for a strong future A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s honey sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path for the long term was launched today by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Todd McClay. The strategy project was initiated by [...]
14 December 2023 Wet weather killed 2023 honey production, better prospects for this season The impact of wet and wild weather last summer on the 2023 honey production season was confirmed today with the publication of the annual MPI Apiculture Monitoring Data. The reported data shows the total annual honey production reached only 12,000 [...]
30 August 2023 Bee Aware Month launched by Associate Minister for Agriculture Jo Luxton at Te Aro School Associate Agriculture Minister, Hon Jo Luxton, has officially launched Bee Aware Month 2023, an annual nation-wide celebration of bees and their importance to our ecosystem, food chain and economy. Minister Luxton inspected the Te Aro School [...]
Recipe supplied by Maureen Conquer Moroccan Spice Pumpkin and Manuka Honey Dip INGREDIENTS 400 grams pumpkin or squash: deseeded, peeled, cut into 3cm cubes. 3 teaspoons olive oil 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamon 1 heaped tablespoon mānuka or another bold honey like [...]
Media advisory 18 May 2023 Bee engaged in pollinator-friendly practices: World Bee Day, 20 May 2023 Planting a range of bee-friendly plants and protecting pollinators is the focus of this year’s World Bee Day on Saturday 20 May. “Not only does the honey bee provide us with a great source of natural food, but it [...]