More about bees & honey

Professor of biology at the University of Sussex, founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and author of A Sting in the Tale, and A Buzz in the Meadow. Audio

Niue could become a global bee sanctuary if the plans of two businessmen succeed. Audio

With hundreds of new beekeepers signing up for the hobby every year, there's a real buzz around the humble honey bee. As well as being a hot new hobby, beekeeping has long been a business in New… Audio

Otago University Geneticist, Peter Dearden is an expert on the honey bee and works closely with the beekeeping industry in New Zealand. Peter says most feral bees have died out, so managed bees play a… Audio

Aucklanders are being encouraged to create their own pollen hotels to help 160,000 hungry honey bees currently foraging for food in the CBD. Audio

Tens of thousands of bees buzzing on the doorsteps of primary school classrooms might sound like some parents' worst nightmare. Audio

University of Otago geneticist Peter Dearden is using the bee genome to develop a bee-friendly insecticide. Audio

Paulo de Souza of the CSIRO is working on a 'swarm sensing' project that involves fitting 5000 tiny sensors to honeybees in Australia to understand more about colony collapse disorder and how insects… Audio

How engine exhausts interfere with honeybees' ability to forage for pollen and nectar. Professor Guy Poppy of The University of Southampton did the research. Audio

The honeybee is under threat around the world. Beekeepers in the United States are losing close to a third of their hives to Colony Collapse Disorder and things aren't looking much better in Europe… Audio

How plants talk to bees using electricity. Bright colours, nectar, and also electrical charges play a part in pollination. With Dr Heather Whitney of the University of Bristol. Audio

Picton bee keepers Matthew Wells and Catherine Gordon lease beehives to people who want greater returns from their fruit trees and vegetables. A few kilometres away retired car mechanic Sunny Sunbeam… Audio

Peter Dearden of Otago University is trying to save the honeybee in New Zealand using selective breeding and genetics. Audio

The Backyard Bee Team runs into some major problems. The head beekeper (aka Simon) is allergic to bees! With Frank and Mary Ann Lindsay and immunology consultant Richard Steele. Audio

Thomas Seeley's book 'Honeybee Democracy' looks at why bees swarm in the spring and the decision-making processes that go on when thousands of bees and a queen decide to leave their hive and find a… Audio

Bug time now and as you can probably hear - today we're doing bees. Audio

We get the buzz on the business of leasing beehives - in Picton with Sage Forest. Audio

Frans Laas is a beekeeper from Mosgiel, and the president of the National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand. He is about to step down after four years service. He's one of only two people in New… Audio

Geoff Kipps Bolton speaks up for bees. He's from San Diego where bee numbers have been decimated by colony collapse disorder. Audio

Bees are hard at work across Auckland pollinating our summer crops and making beautiful honey. There is one apiarist or bee keeper in particular, who is helping to encourage Aucklanders into keeping… Audio

Scientists in Australia are in a buzz after proving that different species of bees can learn each other's 'languages'. Audio

Marian Shore is spearheading a project to have bee corridors in North Otago. Chris Sherlock is the sustainable Development Manager for The Cooperative Group - which has been running the Plan Bee… Audio

Leader of the Bee Unit at Plant and amp; Food Research, who has just been awarded an NZ Science and Technology Medal for his work on honey bees and crop pollination practices. Audio

In the UK, bees are being promoted as pets for city dwellers. Johannes Paul on the 'Beehaus', specially designed for urban beekeeping. Audio

Auckland Town Hall is all abuzz - but not with the usual activities of city workers and politicians. It is the 100,000 honey bees working in their hives on the balcony under the clocktower. They're… Audio

Norwegian University of Life Sciences associate professor Dr Gro Amdam is leading a study into bees and their brains. She and her team have found that the brains of bees can be programmed to repair… Audio

Carol Downer is passionate about bees and says even city people can happily have their own hives. Audio

Scientists have developed a genetic technique that could wipe out the Varroa mite parasite that kills honey bees. Audio

Simon tells us how honey bees from Japan and Cyprus have evolved a defence that is just the bee's knees when it comes to defending their nests against a formidable predator - hornets. Audio

Peter Dearden and Rosannah McCartney are looking at how two distinct types of female honey bees can stem from one genome. Audio

Dr Nigel Raine speaks about the differences between honey bees and bumble bees and the navigational systems they use. Audio

David Graves is an urban beekeeper in New York with 14 hives dotted around Manhattan. Audio

Bee expert Mark Goodwin explains how a beehive works and the state of bees in NZ Audio

Amelia Nurse talks to two bee scientists about why bee numbers are declining and what can be done. Audio

There's concern a disease, which has wiped out bees in other countries, has now reached New Zealand. Kerry McCurdy, is worried the disease known as "Colony Collapse Disorder" is to blame. Audio

Film director and co-founder of Collective Eye Inc., on his latest film about the global bee crisis Queen of the Sun. Audio

Honeybees can be trained to react to particular odours such as those emitted by caterpillar-infested apple trees Audio

The Queensland Brain Institute are looking at bees sense of smell to create an electronic nose. Audio

Pollination biologist Dr. Linda Newstrom-Lloyd talks about the 'Trees for Bees' programme, which has been established by the Federated Farmers Bee Industry Group. Audio

In his new book, Cliff Van Eaton tells the rags-to-riches tale of manuka honey, from his perspective as a beekeeping specialist who watched it unfold from the very beginning. It's the story of… Audio

Jo Donnelly is the co-owner, with her husband Ian Stewart, of artisan honey cordial company Bees Blessing based out of Kau Whero farm in the Mangaroa Valley. She brings recipes for Spiced Syrup… Audio

A recent US study showed that three-quarters of the honeys sampled had been ultra-filtered. Andrew Schneider of Food Safety News reports on what this means for consumers. So is honey being… Audio

Kids share their favourite summer activities - tonight it's Honey. Audio

Biochemist Peter Molan on the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties of manuka honey. Audio

Manuka honey has proven anti-microbial benefit, and growing medicinal applications Audio

Beekeeper Andy Cory is trying to turn the tiny Pacific island of Niue into a safe haven for the world's honeybees. Video, Audio

Beekeepers in parts of the north island have reported big bee losses, affecting honey crops by nearly two thirds. Dr Mark Goodwin is the head of Plant and Food Research's bee unit. Audio