Club Member Review

I joined the Rotorua Honeybee Club in September 2019, after taking an Introduction to Beekeeping Course run by the Club over two weekends.

Although slightly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information from the learnings in the Beekeeping course, the practical session held at the Club’s apiary in Ngongotahā knitted all the information together. As my gear had not arrived in time, the Club kindly lent me some gear, so I was able to fully participate in all aspects of the course and peruse the depths of a beehive for the very first time.

It is important to understand the legal requirements of beekeeping, even as a hobbyist keeper, which was all quite foreign to me, and through the Club course and support of club members, was able to navigate the beekeeper registration process and understand the inspections and documents required for my apiary.

On completion of the beekeeping course, I nervously waited for my nucleus hive to be ready, and in late November 2019, I carefully drove my little nucleus home and installed it into my new hive as I had been taught in the course.

The Club have been incredibly helpful mentors to answer questions I’ve had including: which entrance size should I have and when, when I needed to feed them, what type of bees I had (my Mum wanted to know!) and I was a bit concerned about the spotty brood pattern my queen was laying in (turns out the workers were filling in empty ones with nectar and not leaving enough room for her).

A fantastic resource is the Club newsletter to advise when and what activities you should be undertaking in your hive, and along with my Beekeeping guide and knowledge from the Club course, I have carried out varroa sugar shake tests, installed varroa treatments, looked for any unusual cells for signs of AFB, and increased my confidence opening my hive which can be quite nerve-racking installed in a suit with a multitude of bees flying around.

The other aspect of the Club I really enjoy are the organised Club meetings and excursions where various aspects of beekeeping are discussed, such as queen rearing, splitting a hive and recognising AFB, and of course the social aspect of meeting a group of like-minded people who are passionate about beekeeping and generously share their skills, knowledge and experience with novices like myself.

The resources, knowledge and support of the Club have been invaluable to me as I learn to care for my hive, and I am looking forward to tackling the next steps for the first time, likehoney extraction (hopefully!), and potentially growing my apiary in the future.