As the days shorten and nights cool, the bees flight time shortens, diets reduce and cluster tightens, and it’s got Bay of Plenty beekeeper Aimz thinking while she works the last round of the season.

The hum of the honey processing room. Clack-hiss, whoosh goes the pricker. The extractor puts a spin on the ambience, a see-saw of whirring noises. Trolleys, boxes, buckets moved around amid the roar of the centrifuge. Radio. Banter. Fans and fly-swats. The heat. The heavy, pungent smell of honey.

Like a “sleuthhound”, Aimz is on the case, searching for American foulbrood (AFB) as the last of the honey comes off…

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.