Support our hard-working honey bees during Bee Aware Month

Apiculture New Zealand is asking Kiwis to support hard-working honey bees. Photo / Duncan Brown

If you think you’re busy, spare a thought for our humble Kiwi honey bees. Worker bees never sleep. They live only four to eight weeks, but during that time they fly up to 800km — the flight distance from Wellington to Bluff.

These busy little creatures work tirelessly to produce a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.

At the same time, they pollinate thousands of the flowers that become food for our tables, pasture for farm animals and precious flora for the environment.

Apiculture New Zealand chief executive Karin Kos says bees need our help to stay healthy.

September is Bee Aware Month, and beekeepers are calling on bee lovers throughout New Zealand to learn more about this incredible species and their contribution to our environment, food chain and economy.

Apiculture New Zealand chief executive Karin Kos is asking New Zealanders to support our hard-working bees.

“One-third of the food we eat comes from pollination due to honey bees. To put it simply, it is about one in every three bites of food,” she said.

“We have a healthy bee population in New Zealand, but we can’t be complacent. Bees need our help to stay healthy and Bee Aware Month is all about encouraging people to do those small but vital things that make a real difference.”

These steps can be as simple as planting bee-friendly plants like wildflowers, providing clean water for bee rehydration, choosing bee-friendly pesticides and spraying safely.

A honey bee on a daisy. On one flight from the hive to collect honey, a worker bee will visit 50-100 flowers. Photo / Cryn Russell

Bees also provide the much-loved natural sweet treat, honey, and Bee Aware Month is an opportunity to celebrate the wide range of delicious and unique honey produced in New Zealand.

Bee Aware Month is a national educational campaign initiated and co-ordinated by Apiculture NZ.

Beekeeping clubs and supporters nationwide will be visiting schools and running events. Educational resources produced for schools, community groups and families are available on the Apiculture New Zealand website: https://apinz.org.nz/bee-aware-month/

To learn more about honey bees and Bee Aware Month activities happening throughout the country, follow Apiculture NZ social media pages during September: Facebook — @beeawarenz, Instagram — @beeawaremonthnz