bees

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the most important pollinators of many cultivated food crops and other flowering plants. These plants...

The ‘Buzz of bees’ is a Connected journal devoted entirely to bees. Each article has diagrams and illustrations that offer...

Discover more about the red admiral butterfly, winner of the 2024 Bug of the Year, and how we can help the butterflies of Aotearoa New Zealand....

In Spring 2020 Countdown developed a fantastic collection of insect cards and an album full of amazing facts and activities all about insects found in Aotearoa...

One of New Zealand’s most well known insects is the wētā, of the Orthoptera order, but there are thousands of other insects species, some of which...

What is an insect and should we really care about these creepy crawlies? In a word – yes. As American biologist Edward O Wilson puts it,...

The ‘Buzz of bees’ is a Connected journal devoted entirely to bees. Each article has diagrams and illustrations that offer opportunities for students to develop the...

In a world seeking natural remedies and alternatives to our failing antibiotic treatments, mānuka honey and therapeutic products are proving a market winner. Mānuka honey is...

University of Otago geneticist Peter Dearden is using the bee genome to develop a bee-friendly insecticide. Listen to this RNZ audio Bee-friendly insecticides from April 2014....

Strawberries grown from bee-pollinated flowers are more prolific, last longer and are better quality (as measured by colour, size, weight and lack of malformations) than those...

Plant & Food Research is investigating whether bumblebees can be used to pollinate flowers in commercial orchards. Dr David Pattemore from Plant & Food Research explains...

In 2012 scientists from New Zealand identified key compounds in honey that stimulate the immune system, paving the way for a range of new wound-healing products....

Position: Head of research, Plant & Food Research. Field: Honey bees and pollination. For Dr Mark Goodwin, working with pollination has its challenges. Most crop plants...

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the most important pollinators of many cultivated food crops and other flowering plants. These plants would be in trouble without bees,...

Getting good crops of avocados in New Zealand is not always easy, and pollination is part of the problem. The avocado is a fruit tree introduced...

Next time you eat a kiwifruit, cut it in half and look at it before taking a bite. Look for the little seeds – most kiwifruit...

Flowers are not on plants just to make them look pretty. They are there as a vital part of a flowering plant’s life cycle. Not all...

Position: Professor and Associate Dean (Research), University of Otago. Field: Genetics and biochemistry. Professor Peter Dearden started his career in science studying genetics, biochemistry and physiology...

A little mite, like a tiny spider the size of a pin head, has been plaguing New Zealand’s bee industry. The mites, called varroa, are parasites...

Position: University Professor, Field: Biochemistry. When asked what aspect of his work he enjoys the most, Peter enthusiastically says: “Everything!” In particular, he liked teaching and...

Position: CEO, Field: Natural healthcare, Place of work: Comvita, Paengaroa (2005-2016) Brett is the CEO of Comvita and is the driver behind the vision for the...

Below are some interesting facts about bees and honey. Find out more about bees and pollination. All worker bees are female. A bee produces a teaspoon...

New Zealand company is making and selling Mānuka honey woundcare products. In order to meet the high safety standards that are required, the honey needs to...

Although honey from New Zealand’s Mānuka trees looks a lot like other honeys, there is one important difference that makes it extra special. Different honeys from...

All honeys have properties that help them heal wounds. But how do they do this, and what’s so unique about Mānuka honey? The problem with wounds...

You may have been spreading honey on your toast for a few years, but people have been using it to treat illnesses for thousands of years!...