Honey bees, which are of European origin, have played a key role in New Zealand horticulture.
For more than 150 years they have pollinated essential crops and produced up to 12,000 tonnes of honey per annum, up to half of which is exported.
The National Beekeepers' Association of New Zealand is marking 100 years of operation and NZ Post has produced a commemorative stamp.
When Yorkshire-woman Mary Bumby realised the numerous species of native bees didn't make honey, she imported the first honey bee hives in 1839, says New Zealand Post's stamps spokesman Simon Allison.
August is Bee Aware month, highlighting the plight of bees and dwindling numbers through the effect of a varroa mite infestation.