Kiwifruit cooperative Zespri wants beekeepers, especially those who might be auditing hives for pollination, to ‘elevate’ their skills and they are offering the training to make it happen.

Building on Ian Fletcher’s Revitalising Bee Science column last month imploring New Zealand’s apiculture industry to better promote its value to environment and economy, Dave Black casts his gaze wide – from the history of honey bees on these shores to modern global conventions which could provide the pathway beekeepers and scientists seek to advance bee research and support.

I read Dave Black’s recent article, “No More Heroes (Any More),” with a mix of appreciation and concern. Appreciation because he voices something many in the beekeeping world feel but don’t always say out loud: the creeping sense that technology is being used to make us obsolete. Concern, because the trajectory he describes is real, and if we don’t address it, the very people who sustain pollination — the growers and keepers — risk being pushed to the margins.

Did you know that among the kiwifruit orchards in the Bay of Plenty this year will be beehives holding BeeHero sensors? What on the surface may seem like hive-auditing assistance, with the potential to gain beekeepers better pay for their services, could prove to be just the opposite – a company that plays the role of hive broker and removes beekeeping expertise entirely, leaving existing hive owners further impoverished.

With harvest behind us, the kiwifruit industry turns to the season ahead. Winter canopy management moves into budbreak enhancers, from which spring will flourish and the arrival of the bees.

1400 beehives destroyed by fire, then within a year another 700 to flooding, soon after that small hive beetle wipes out 500 more, then...

It's been a busy month in the Bay of Plenty, but first-season beekeeper Aimz has managed to find a few moments to recap a period where...

Some of the most pressing issues facing beekeepers were presented and discussed at an open day hosted by Manuka Orchard, July 26...

Kiwifruit orchards are on the increase while beehive totals are on a steep decline, and with the former relying heavily on the latter to...

This spring is the first for 26 years that Tauranga beekeeper Dennis Crowley will not be in the business of bees. We take a look back...

John Syme spent all his working life as a beekeeper and, at 82, he still keeps his hand it. Quite simply, it's in the blood...

Like any beekeeper who has three decades in business, Jeff Brand has seen the ups and downs of the industry...