Submit a question about beekeeping, bee science or honey via the link below and we will get an expert to answer it and publish the answer on the webpage. Some will also be chosen to include in The New Zealand BeeKeeper journal.
GOT QUESTIONS?
Selling beeswax
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 [...]
Starting an apiary
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 [...]
Checking hives in winter
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 [...]
Stingless drones
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 [...]
Queen outside hive?
Q. My queen came outside the hive for some reason. A. With so little context, it is difficult to give a definitive answer as to why this happened. Assuming that she came out alone [...]
Who’s in charge?
Q. Who is in charge inside the hive? The queen or the workers (foragers)? Good question. While it is commonly thought that she is called the queen because she is in charge, the hive [...]
Queenless colony?
Q. If a colony is queenless and there's no brood to raise a new queen, would they stay, swarm or die? A. If there isn’t any viable brood, they can’t raise a queen. A [...]
Do bees grieve?
Q. Do bees grieve? A. A very interesting question. First, we must ask if bees have the capacity to grieve or even feel any emotions. With only one million neurons, it is unlikely that [...]
Test for varroa?
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, [...]
Drones any good?
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 [...]
Old hiveware?
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 [...]
Tutin in pollen?
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 [...]