Host a Hive

Kiwi Bees is a new business set up by Jack Barley in Hawke’s Bay which provides a service called “Host A Hive”, that provides fully managed beehives, by way of an annual rental agreement, for pollination and honey production for urban people and lifestylers. 

Jack completed a business communications degree at Waikato University and while a student, worked in his holidays for commercial beekeepers in Hawke’s Bay.  When he finished his degree he became certified and registered and worked again for the same business as a fully qualified beekeeper.  He also has a Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement (DECA), which enables him to inspect and treat bees for pests and diseases such as varroa mite and American Foul Brood (AFB).

Jack set up his Kiwi Bees business last year, initially buying a few hives, and is now building up bee and hive numbers.

“I was helping these commercial beekeepers look after thousands of hives and lots of people asked if they could have one or two hives at their place.  For a big business it is not feasible to have one or two hives all over the place.  That’s why I started providing the Kiwi Bees “Host A Hive” service for people who want one or two hives, but don’t want to look after them or don’t have the time or skills yet themselves.”

The “Host A Hive” service provides one to four hives for pollination, a year’s supply of honey, full servicing and maintenance, regular checks of bee activity and health, all treatments for varroa mite, regular inspection for AFB, feeding of bees when necessary, transport costs, and all registration costs, levies and statutory obligations.

“Since we started the service, the numbers of people interested in supporting a hive has been overwhelming”, says Jack.  He now has 150 clients around Hawke’s Bay, most of whom are in town or on lifestyle blocks.

They are involved mainly because they want bees for pollination and because they want to support the bee population, and on top of that they get honey, which Jack says “sweetens the deal”.

One hive costs $300 a year, two hives $500 and four hives $700 a year but it is likely that these prices will slightly increase.

Bees are responsible for up to 80% of all plant pollination, so without honey bees we are in trouble, Jack says.

“We also promote responsible bee-keeping to try and sustain the bee population not only in Hawke’s Bay but throughout the country.  By doing things properly we are trying to fight the battle against varroa and AFB.”

With most of the Kiwi Bees hives in town, there is a lot of forage around for the bees, with many different sources of flowers, nectars and protein.  “We do encourage all our clients to plant bee friendly species, including lavender, borage and rosemary.  Flowers which are yellow, blue or have ultraviolet colours are good, as are native species.”

Jack hopes “Host A Hive” will be a stepping stone for people to one day own their own bee hive.  “Because we are providing a full maintenance service we are taking the difficulty out of bee hive ownership.  People then don’t have to be registered and certified.  They don’t need to have a smoker, hive tool or the protective gear.  They still have the bees but they don’t have to lift a finger and they get all the benefits of pollination.”

“If clients want to get into a bee suit and help me to take the honey off and check the brood they can.  Until this time of the year there is not much activity in the hive.  One in three clients have said they would love to help.”

One of Jack’s clients is Bernie Gunn, who runs a native plant nursery called Hawke’s Bay Forest Restoration just outside of Hastings.  He has had a couple of hives on his driveway near his nursery since August 2013.

Bernie says he was keen to have the bees around for pollination, particularly for the native plants he collects seed from to grow at the nursery.  And he likes the idea of receiving honey to give away or barter.  He also enjoys watching the bees work, and is happy that they are being well managed.

Bernie recommends growing the following native species for bee fodder: manuka, kanuka, cabbage trees, wineberry, five-finger and lemonwood.  He is involved in a large-scale planting project on family land around nearby Lake Runanga where many of his plants are going in the ground.

Jack would like to extend this business into other parts of the country using a franchise system and is open to enquiries.

He wants to see people have bees as pets, just like they do for cats or dogs.  “And you get the benefit of the honey from the hive and all the pollination.  It is a win-win.”

“Bees are not dangerous. Unless people are disturbing the hive, the bees are so busy getting nectar and pollen and foraging that they aren’t interested in stinging humans.  This is also a good way to get children interested in bees and learn to be comfortable around bees as well.”

As at March 2014, prices have increased slightly.  Please go to http://www.kiwibees.co.nz/#!prices/crl3 for current prices and plans.