Progress towards the reshaping of a national-level beekeeping industry body is continuing its slow but now, seemingly, steady progress as the calendar flips to 2026. A group of ten beekeepers have been tasked with assessing a “draft foundation document”, having met once in December and planning to do so again in January.

Levies for American foulbrood are set to remain the same into the 2026/27 season, following consultation with beekeepers. But should the agency, New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity (NZBB), be advancing plans to extend their remit beyond AFB into wider bee health and biosecurity as their name suggests? Results on that question were murky and the path forward now similar, right as the country contends with a crucial beekeeping-related biosecurity incursion.

It’s much easier said than done, but for beekeepers timing when the important tasks in the apiary are undertaken is crucial. John Berry imparts what he has learned about timing it right over his six decades of time in the hives.

It pleases me to introduce a new, regular column being written by Dr Mark Goodwin, where one of our most esteemed honey bee scientists can impart some of what he has learnt from his research, and from beekeepers in New Zealand and around the world.

Bask in warm December air, bees are working everywhere. Mountains, valleys, farm and fields, every buzz increasing yields of viscous, trickling, sticky stuff – us beekeepers just can’t get enough.

Can bees tell the time? In their own unique way – yes. And, understanding how and why could play an important role in increasing hive productivity and improving conservation efforts.

Despite being thrown some serious challenges in winter and spring 2025, beekeepers servicing New Zealand’s major kiwifruit growing areas appear to have – for the most part – filled their role adequately. It hasn’t been all smooth sailing though, with some disaster stories around hives failing their audits, meaning the proposition of securing enough quality beehives to pollinate the valuable crop in coming seasons should concern growers.

This story is available in audio form through Apiarist's Advocate Pod on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or here . What started as a find of two male yellow-legged hornets in Auckland over winter has morphed into more than 20 sightings of queen hornets and over a dozen nests in the city. If New Zealand is to have any chance of eradicating the bee-predators then the collective actions of Biosecurity New Zealand, beekeepers and the wider community over the next month is critical,

What to make of the hornet incursion response so far? Ian Fletcher has been among those advising the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) from the beekeeping industry’s perspective. He reports on a programme that has so far relied too much on hope, may be continuing to do so and that “the lack of a grip on this issue should concern us all”.

Industry groups Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) and New Zealand Beekeeping Inc (NZBI) have found themselves distracted by the unwelcome yellow-legged hornet incursion response in the last month, but some small progress towards a more united industry body has been made they say.

In the film the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy walks a yellow brick road to the Emerald Castle in search of a wizard. In China, Comvita appears to have embarked upon a kindred quest to the cave of a dragon. Although both reach their destination, neither wizard nor dragon deliver on the hopes held for them, and Comvita learns that dragons do not live forever. Bruce Roscoe traces Comvita’s China sojourn, compiles a damage report, and asks, Where to now?

It’s looking more and more likely that the people of New Zealand and destined for co-habitation with yellow-legged hornets as more and more discoveries are announced around Auckland. What would we be in for should they become established – from their behaviours to how they might impact the country’s economy – and what control methods do we have at our disposal?