![]() The worker bees feed the larva royal jelly for the first few days and then switch to honey and pollen. LarvaĪfter three days, the egg hatches into a worm-like form called a larva. The egg stage of development lasts only three days. In cells that are slightly larger than the worker cells, she lays unfertilized eggs that will grow into drones. In most of the cells, she lays a fertilized egg that will develop into a worker bee. Knowing what the colony needs to survive, the worker bees have built appropriate cells for the queen. Source: Honey bees brought to New Zealand (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).The queen lays one egg per cell. The commercial production of honey in New Zealand began during the late 1870s, following the introduction of the Langstroth hive, the boxed-framed beehive model still used today. Isaac Hopkins, regarded as the father of beekeeping in New Zealand, observed that by the 1860s, bee nests in the bush were plentiful, and considerable quantities of honey were being sold by Māori – the country’s first commercial beekeepers. The New Zealand bush proved a hospitable place for bees, and the number of wild colonies, through swarming, multiplied rapidly, especially in the Bay of Islands. In 1848, William Cotton wrote a manual for New Zealand beekeepers, describing the basics of bee husbandry and production of honey. More bee species were brought to New Zealand in 1843. While New Zealand already had native species of bees, they were not suitable for producing honey, their role was as pollinators. She brought two hives ashore when she landed at the Mangungu Mission Station at Hokianga in March 1839. ![]() Mary Bumby, the sister of a Methodist missionary, is considered the first person to introduce honey bees to New Zealand. New Zealand is now recognised as one of the world’s most advanced beekeeping countries and is a leader in several important fields. In that time, beekeeping has moved from being a home craft or lifestyle choice, into a progressive industry. Honey bees have been kept in New Zealand for more than 150 years. Guard bees are responsible for making sure only honey bees that belong to the colony enter the hive, while the nurse bees feed, clean, and make food for the larvae, queen and drones. Hives also have guard bees and nurse bees.In an average beehive during the summer months, you can expect to find one queen bee and about 250 drones, 60,000 worker bees, 7,000 eggs, 10,000 larvae and 20,000 pupae.The worker bees are the only bees which sting, and they will only do so if they feel threatened.The worker bees have lots of jobs, including finding pollen from flowers, collecting nectar and water, building new honeycomb (which holds the honey and pollen), taking care of larvae (developing young bees), and grooming and feeding the queen. ![]() In summer, the queen bee can lay as many as 1,500 eggs every day. Their only job is to mate with the queen, and the queen’s job is to lay eggs. ![]() ![]()
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