Among several New Zealand labs’ suite of honey tests are those designed to detect heavy metals. Hill Labs scientists Kyle Snare and Sukhjeet Singh explain how the heavy metals make it into the sweet stuff and why the testing is needed.

With a recent hornet incursion in Auckland, biosecurity is the topic-du-jour within apiculture and so Colony Loss Survey author Pike Stahlmann-Brown explains what last year’s survey results indicated about beekeepers’ preparedness.

By now we are aware that tiny plastic particles are all around us and, as humans, can’t help but ingest them. It’s the same in the animal kingdom and for the humble honey bee. Science writer Dave Black examines what that means for their health, and ours, and the food we both consume.

When the kiwifruit vines begin to flower, beekeepers need to be ‘ready to rock-n-roll’ in the Bay of Plenty. Aimz sure is…

What to make of the most recent government tinkering with New Zealand’s secondary school education system? Ian Fletcher weighs in with why getting it right is so important, but also so complex.

Queen breeders’ phones have been ringing off the hook this spring, with huge demand for mated queens, queen cells and nucs from – mainly – North Island beekeepers, while more than 700 beehives have crossed Cook Strait, destined for kiwifruit orchards in the Bay of Plenty. Increased orchard areas are undoubtably driving demand, but there is more at play too.

Despite the huge distance separating New Zealand and Denmark, at least 20 New Zealanders made their way to the biennial, global beekeeping showcase that is Apimondia, September 24-27. They report a “fabulous”, “overwhelming” and “very, very good” event that will “blow your mind”, but return with warnings for honey producers and suggest that New Zealand needs to have an even stronger showing in future.

There is no guarantee of a solution to keep all parties happy, but leading industry groups Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) and New Zealand Beekeeping Inc (NZBI) have put in writing a timeline to collaborate in an attempt to deliver an improved beekeeping industry body.

Shareholder value represents the net asset value of a company. Between June 2024 and June 2025, Comvita erased NZD183.6m of that value. Bruce Roscoe explains Comvita’s application of the accounting standard that caused most of the destruction. He also questions the method used to revalue assets.

The latest in industry group New Zealand Beekeeping Inc’s (NZBI) ‘roundtable’ meetings was held online on September 17 in an attempt to progress beekeeper thinking towards a more enticing national group to represent their interests. While a “strawman” constitution was presented, the video-call proved more an insight into the limitations that for years have driven beekeepers from taking up membership in any industry body en mass.

The newly named and independently governed New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity (NZBB) Trust has taken its next tentative step towards an expanded remit, asking beekeepers to weigh in on whether the former American Foulbrood (AFB) Management Agency should take on a greater responsibility regarding ‘general honey bee health and disease management’, including biosecurity preparedness.

This is a companion article to Comvita, UMFHA & the Australian Question which appeared in our September edition. Here, Bruce Roscoe finds similarities as stark as differences in the Australian and New Zealand honey industries. Though at times portrayed as hostile, Australia represents an indispensable market, ranking as New Zealand’s fourth-largest customer for honey (all types) and largest by far buyer of retail pack non-manuka honey.