Melita landowners
Landowner Partnerships
Our policy is to own 100% of our hives, and our strategic land management practices focus on creating the best environment for Manuka Honey production. We do this by working with land owners all over New Zealand.
We have two different requirements for landowner properties:
- We want to hear from North Island landowners with large tracts of Manuka bush for the summer flowering season (November to March).
- We also look to partner with landowners to house our hives over the winter period (April to October). The winter sites need to be close to one of our regional depots (Hastings, Rotorua, Whanganui) with access to multiple floral types.
For more information, please read our FAQ’s below, or feel free to reach out to us over the phone. We are happy to have a discussion with you and answer any questions you may have.
From the hive to the table, we deliver a product of exceptional quality so you can enjoy the superior taste straight from nature.
Harvest Report Example
Below is a sample of our landowner reports. These are sent to all landowners after the season. We believe in providing our landowners with full transparency, this includes the independent laboratory tests on any honey collected from your site. It is a partnership after all.
Want to know more?
FAQs
Depending on your location the bulk of our shifting on is November -December and we remove once flowering has finished around Feb – March.
Generally are from around March through until November. These winter sites is a holding site where we can care and attend to our bees reasonably close to our base. We do not generally collect honey off these sites. If we do it is removed prior to Manuka and given back to those hives post Manuka season as winter stores.
We generally visit every 3-4 weeks depending on the time of the year. Summer is more frequent while winter is less.
With swarming you see a large amount almost cloud our bees moving as a group away from the hives or clumped in am area for up to 24hrs. If hives are just far busier around the apiary this is generally just a good sign conditions are favourable and bees are more active. It does not mean they are more dangerous.
If you have any signs of feeling faint or swelling in the throat then you need medical assistance urgently or use of an epipen. Then get to a hospital to be checked as the epipen may only buy you time however, most cases result in swelling of the sting area which can get quite swollen but this does not mean you are allergic. It is quite normal to get some swelling.
We shift at night because it is when all the bees are back in the hive and they will stay there until the sun is out.
Leave cover off and remove anything they can land on to drink. Bees can fly over 3km so often you will find there is actually hundreds of hives in the area that are coming to that spot. Remember they are vital to our planet and after all it is free for them to roam and pollinate. Often it’s for a small period of time and their habits will change as seasons change so be patient with them.
Likely drinking from gutters if limited on water supply when forging .
If its not a swarm – big blob of bees or hiding in the wall it could be the baking or cooking they can smell very well and will be trying to get some free food. Be patient with our precious bees its is likely from bee hives within a 3km radius not just the ones you see or know about.
We have roughly 10,000 bee hives across the North Island of New Zealand.