For the Summer journal we’re highlighting the importance of fire safety when beekeeping in high-risk conditions and the great work the country’s firefighters do to keep us safe. Many of these firefighters, like Simon, are also avid beekeepers. Simon Aarts Coalgate Honey Co., Coalgate, Canterbury What’s your background in beekeeping? How long have [...]
BEEKEEPING 101: Summer 24-25 Ken Brown. This new column covers beekeeping basics for beginner and intermediate beekeepers. Just like the doctor’s oath, a primary consideration is to do no harm during an examination. However, there are times when some interventions are necessary for the long-term greater good, which includes hive checks. FIRST, [...]
BUSINESS Fiona Windle, Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence Losing a worker and then having to find and train a new one can be costly and time-consuming. Keeping employees happy not only saves money but also boosts productivity and ensures smooth operations. The food and fibre sector (including apiculture) struggles more [...]
ABOUT THE APIARY: SUMMER 2024-25 Barry Foster. Summer marks, in numerous ways, the culmination of the beekeeping season. Starting with the placement of hives on various summer sites for a variety of honey flows. Then it’s supering, harvesting, processing the honey crop, controlling pests and diseases and hopefully marketing the honey crop [...]
New honey industry organisation proposal open for industry feedback Apiculture New Zealand and the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA) have shared plans with their members on a proposal to form a new industry body. This new organisation will be better placed to provide a stronger collective voice for the honey industry’s commercial beekeepers [...]
To get a behind-the-scenes look at how international standards for honey and hive products are being developed, Karen Allan caught up with the New Zealanders who are putting in the hard work and late nights to ensure fair, quality standards are produced, and counterfeit products are kept out of the market. The International Organisation [...]
Q. Can I sell my beeswax if it has been processed in a NP1 kitchen? A. If you are operating under a National Programme (NP) 1 Guidance and want to process beeswax for sale that is not for human or animal consumption, then you do not require a registration or have requirements to meet [...]
Q. How does one start, and increase an apiary in and around Carterton? A. It depends on whether you want to be a hobbyist or commercial beekeeper. In the first case the best step would be to join a local beekeeping club, your nearest is likely to be Wellington Beekeepers’ Club, you are fortunate [...]
Q. I’m a second-year beekeeper, I lost my hives last winter. Should I check my hives in the winter? A. It depends. Like most things in beekeeping, context is everything. There is the dilemma that going into a hive will actually set it back, but a hive needs to be managed and not going [...]
Q. Why don't drones sting? A. Only female insects sting. This is because the sting has evolved from the ovipositor, which lays eggs. We can see this today in parasitoid wasps where she lays an egg inside an immobilised host which the young wasp consumes as it develops. The sting of the honey bee [...]