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Story: Beekeeping

New Zealand’s bee species

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New Zealand’s bee species

New Zealand has 28 native and 13 introduced species of bee. They all feed on nectar and pollen and have some role in pollinating plants. Most native species look similar to honeybees, but are smaller. Others are smaller still and do not resemble honeybees. Five of the honeybee species were accidentally introduced. The four Bombus species are bumble bees and are not farmed for honey production. New Zealand’s 300,000 commercial hives produced an average of 9,000 tonnes of honey each year between 2001 and 2005.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: B. J. Donovan, Apoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Lincoln: Manaaki Whenua Press, Landcare Research, 2007

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How to cite this page

Allan Gillingham, Beekeeping – Bee species, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/15740/new-zealands-bee-species (accessed 23 June 2026).

Story by Allan Gillingham, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Silvana
05 November 2015
Hi, love the article, would be good to have some photos or illustrations of the types of nz bees. Thank you!!
Enrico Hoover
20 October 2015
Hi, excellent site, I thoroughly enjoyed. I have a hive of bees living in my chimney, what is the best way to get these identified? I'd like to know if they are a native or introduced species. They are very small and don't look the same as bees in some commercial hives I have seen, I'd like to find out if they are a native species. I'd appreciate any advice. ph 07 8876 803, cheers, enrico