Manawatu Beekeepers Club

16/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/TreesforBeesPlantNursery

At Treesnursery is specifically designed to provide food for bees (& birds) throughout the year. We

05/02/2026

Reminder Beginners course 2026
March Sat 7th & Sun 8th

If you would like to attend, please email the [email protected] for a registration form, and return it to [email protected]

This course will be held over two days, including both theory and practical sessions. The course is a repeat of the courses run previously which were very well received.

It is designed to give you the confidence to be a beekeeper, teaching all the basic aspects of beekeeping using the Langstroth hive system. Most procedures are also relevant to other hive systems.

COST: $150 per person.

This includes a printed course book and tuition with experienced beekeepers.

FOOD: Food and drink for morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea will be provided.

CLOTHING: A full bee suit and gloves will need to be worn for the practical sessions. A number of suits will be available for use but possibly not enough for everyone. We need an indication if you have your own suit or if you need to borrow one so we can ensure every one will have one.

Please wear / bring long socks and gumboots or closed shoes as ankles are as some times overlooked area that bees can get at and sting.

LOCATION: The course will be held in the PNCC Recycling and recovery centre, Maxwells Line, Palmerston North (directions will be given).

Start time is 9am, and runs through to approximately 3–4pm both days.

The course will be limited to 25 people, so please register and pay as soon as possible. Participation it will be on a first in first served registration basis.

If you are interested in attending this course but would like more information please email [email protected]

19/01/2026

First meeting of 2026, 22nd January. Doors open 7pm and meeting starts at 7.30. All welcome!

23/10/2025

Meeting Thursday 23rd October cancelled due to nasty weather, stay off the roads and be safe.
Catch you all at the end of year pot luck in November (27th)

01/10/2025

Spring swarm season is here!

If you see a swarm in the Manawatu area, give us a call or text on 0225836763

We are the Manawatu Beekeepers Club, we can help !
We will come and rescue the bee swarm, at no cost to you, and use it to set up a new hive so they are cared for.
Please do not disturb the swarm, or try to get them to move on, or kill them. Beeswarms will stay 'in place' from about 5pm to 9am. They may move on, after 9am
Once they cluster, they won't move until they're ready to, or a beekeeper removes the entire cluster including the queen. Honey bees swarm from September to February. A swarm is a group of bees that have left the hive to look for a new home. The bees in a swarm are usually not in an aggressive mood, but you may not want them setting up house at your place!
We put the first 6 swarms into Club Apiaries, so we have hives to teach beginners with in late summer. Then we distribute the rest to new beekeepers so they can start learning about hives and beekeeping without large initial costs.
You can find more information on our website at https://manawatubeeclub.org.nz/swarm-collection

Swarms: Honey bee swarms are a cluster of bees out in the open - they will typically cluster hanging in a tree or clumped on a fence, wall or other object while the scout bees look for their new home.

Nests in the ground are never honey bees - it will either be wasps or bumble bees - check the pictures on our web site to identify the UFO’s if you're not sure.
Check that they are in fact bees.
Note where they are: in tree, bush, on a post, on eaves of house (bee rescue needs a ladder).
How large the swarm is (relative to a common object like a tennis ball, basketball, 20 L bucket etc).
Address for pickup.
Palmerston North / Pahiatua / Feilding / Foxton /Bulls areas: TXT or call Bee Rescue 0225836763 or email [email protected]

23/01/2025