While some still hold out hope for a late-summer honey flow, other beekeepers are already turning to autumn tasks in their hives as various reports of a “patchy”, “unique” and “on/off” honey season are emerging. We speak to beekeepers up and down the country to get their ‘take’ on what is shaping as a below-average honey season which for the second year running promised much early before going cold.

Finding itself with money on both sides of a US trademark case (as detailed in Mānuka Charitable Trust Scores Own Goal in Trademark Attack on Comvita Mānuka Honey Cosmetics), Comvita Ltd. has formally requested that Mānuka Charitable Trust (MCT) withdraws their opposition to the Caravan Honey Co. application. However, MCT has confirmed they will be following their process, claiming the integrity of New Zealand’s mānuka honey is at stake.

Mānuka Charitable Trust (MCT) has upended a four-year Comvita marketing effort in the US by opposing “THE MĀNUKA EFFECT” trademark application. A suite of Comvita mānuka honey cosmetics is sold under that pending trademark. A joint venture between Comvita and Hollywood A-lister-linked Caravan Digital sponsored the creation of the cosmetics. MCT failed to see the New Zealand connection. Bruce Roscoe reports.

‘One vote, one member’, only commercial beekeepers have voting rights, and potential fees of approximately $400/year plus $1/hive – details of Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) and New Zealand Beekeeping Inc’s (NZBI) proposed new industry group have been discussed at a January 28 ApiNZ Special General Meeting.

With yellow-legged hornet nests continuing to be found on Auckland’s North Shore, more than six months on from the first Vespa velutina finds in the city, some beekeepers are calling for a ‘bounty’ programme of financial incentives to be implemented to help encourage more finds. However, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) say the increased workload on them to police the process is too much.

On December 4 2025 John Rawcliffe passed away suddenly in Malaysia, age 64. He staunchly served New Zealand’s mānuka honey industry for more than two decades, including leading the UMF Honey Association (UMFHA) from 2000 to 2023. Those who worked alongside him pay tribute to a friend and colleague who delivered a lasting impact through an unwavering commitment to mānuka honey’s scientific integrity and gaining its consumers’ protection.

After kicking the tires with beekeepers regarding the possibility of extending New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity’s (NZBB) work programme beyond American foulbrood (AFB) and to a role more fitting their new name, the former American foulbrood (AFB) Management Agency has handed the hot-potato to the Minister for Biosecurity.

A Tasman‑based hobby beekeeper, Ilona Hart has worked in apiculture for many years and now leads delivery of the ministry for Primary Industries’ National Apiculture Surveillance Programme (NASP) through AsureQuality Limited. We sit down with Hart to find out how the programme is working to protect beekeeper’s livelihoods, and where they might cross paths with her and her team of beekeepers.

Anybody who has spent any length of time as a commercial beekeeper in New Zealand will know of back injury, either from first-hand experience or hearing the stories. Now, in a New Zealand first, Victoria University of Wellington PhD student Jane Pierce has researched the impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on Kiwi apiarists.

It’s a big word, from an ancient language, but if you have ever traded honey, or any food, then you will have likely encountered Codex Alimentarius. The international food standards play an integral role in how honey is traded globally – and even what is deemed ‘honey’. What’s the point of it though, and is it doing its job sufficiently?

If you are a beekeeper you will have invariably moved hives to a different location, and for most commercial beekeepers it is an essential part of the business. Dr Mark Goodwin has too, and made some astute observations about the resulting bee behaviour.

While the end of January might have brought Bay of Plenty beekeepers and their livestock a battering by the elements, Aimz kicked off the month and year with back-breaking work in the field, and frustrations in the extraction shed. A mix of joys and trials, here’s her look into a week in the life of a beekeeper.