Christchurch Beekeepers Club

Field Day
2025-11-01 09:30 - 12:30, 2026-03-07 09:30 - 12:30 (Pacific/Auckland) | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
Field Days

Field Day - Christmas Edition!
2025-12-06 09:30 - 12:30 | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
Join us for our final Field Day of the year as we celebrate with a festive Christmas BBQ. Please bring a Christmas plate to share.
We’ll also be running a raffle for a nuc — tickets are $5.00 each.
What’s Happening on the Day
Varroa Monitoring DemonstrationsLearn several methods for checking your hives, including:

Using sticky boards (and how to make them)
Sugar shake testing
Alcohol wash monitoring

Special Guest: Tania from NZ BeeswaxTania will be on-site with supplies. Get in touch with her beforehand if you’d like to pre-order anything.
Frame Cleaning DemoLee will be demonstrating her steamer setup for efficient frame cleaning.
Craft CornerMake your own candles for Christmas gifts and enjoy a range of bee-themed festive crafts.

Looking Ahead
Our January Field Day will be held on the second Saturday, as always — January 10th at 9:30am.

Field Day
2026-01-10 09:30 - 12:30 | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
No doubt many of you are asking the same question:“Why are my bees doing that?”
It has been another challenging season, with changing weather patterns and unpredictable conditions. While we cannot control the weather, we can prepare for what comes next – especially the upcoming honey flow.
Come along to the club meeting and get answers from experienced members who have been there and done that. It is a great opportunity to learn, share experiences, and make sure your hives are ready for the season ahead.
See you Saturday.

Field Day
2026-02-14 09:30 - 12:30 | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
We’re pleased to let members know that Brian from Beeline Supplies will be joining us at our club field day on 14 February 2026.
Brian will be bringing a selection of beekeeping equipment and varroa treatments, along with exclusive specials for club members, both for pre-order and on the day.
Member Pre-Order Specials (15% off)

Pink semi-vented suitsUse code: PRETTY IN PINK
3-layer jacketsUse code: 3 LAYER JACKET CBK

On-the-Day Specials

20% off 3-layer gloves (limited sizes)
Other gloves: $20 per pair
20-litre pail with honey gate and double sieve (extendable handles): $65
Drip trays (complete): $38
Plus more available on the day

Website Orders – Delivered to the Field Day (Freight Free)
Members are welcome to place orders via the website and have them brought to the field day at no extra cost.
How to order:

Proceed to checkout on the website
Select Pick up in store under Payment Method
In the Notes section, please write: “Bring to the club”

🗓 Order cut-off date: 11 February 2026
👉 Visit: www.beelinesupplies.co.nz
We’re grateful to Brian for supporting our club and look forward to seeing members take advantage of these great offers on the day.

Queen Rearing Course
2026-02-21 09:30 - 15:00 | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
The club will be hosting a Queen Rearing Course on Saturday, 21 February, starting at 9:30 am, held at the club.
Jeff will be running the course and will cover how to graft your own queens. Queen rearing can be one of the most rewarding skills in beekeeping — and if you do well, you may even go home with a new queen.
What to Bring

Bee suit
Pen and paper for notes
Your own lunch

☕ Tea and coffee will be provided.
Cost

Club members: $70.00
Non-members: $120.00

Payment Details
Payment must be made prior to attending the course.

Bank account: 03-0767-0323307
Please include your name and phone number as reference.

Booking Confirmation
To confirm your place, text your name to Jeff on 0210 734 148.Confirmation by text is essential.
⚠️ This is the only queen course being run this season.
Come and enjoy the challenge of one of beekeeping’s finest arts 🐝

AFB Recognition Course
2026-02-28 09:00 - 15:00 | NTA McLeans Island Campus, 890 McLeans Island Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8051, New Zealand
A powerful tool in the fight against AFB is education. Our training courses inform beekeepers of their legal obligations and equip them to identify AFB and eliminate it from their beekeeping operations using best practice methods. Courses cover everything beekeepers need to know from disease identification to the destruction of AFB-infected equipment.
https://www.nzbb.org.nz/courses/p/christchurchfeb2026

2026 Honey Show & Gadget Day
2026-04-11 09:30 - 12:30 | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
Honey Show
The Honey Show will be held at the Club Site on Sat April 11th 2026, so do come along and enter your hive products.
All members, novice and experienced, can participate in the Honey Show. Follow the rules posted, to be in to win one of the two Club Shields -the Novice or the Experienced Beekeepers Club Shield. Prizes to be announced later.
A shield is awarded to the entrant with the most points overall and a novice shield is awarded to a first or second year beekeeper. (This must be stated at the time).
General Rules:
• Members may only have one entry per class. If required, guidance will be given as to which class your entry should be exhibited in. The judges decision will be final.
• Exhibits must be delivered at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the judging.
• Liquid and creamed honey must be in standard 500 gm square”round” plastic jars with white lids.
• No labels on jars.
• Only exhibits from Financial members will be accepted.
• Write your initials (which may be on a small sticky label) on the BASE of the exhibit.
Classes:
1. Dark honey creamed
2. Dark honey liquid
3. Light honey creamed
4. Light honey liquid
5. Wax blocks 500 gm minimum weight
6. Mead 750 ml clear glass bottle
Details of each class
1 & 3. Dark creamed honey or light creamed honey
The entrant is to decide which class to enter.
The judge will take notice of flavour, colour, fineness of grain and freedom from foreign material. Please remember to obtain standard show jars. The reason for this uniformity is that different types of jars have varying light densities depending on the thickness of the glass.
2 & 4. Light liquid honey or dark liquid honey the same criteria as above.
5. Wax
Each exhibit must be at least 250gms in weight and from this season. It must be presented as tipped from the mould; points will be lost for chipping or scraping.
The Judge will look for colour, texture and purity. No restriction as to the shape of the mould.
Entrants are advised not to heat wax in iron or enamel containers as this can discolour the wax, for preference use an aluminium container. Do not overheat the wax; strain through stocking or similar; cool very slowly as this makes for uniformity of texture and freedom from cracking. Avoid propolis as this tends to darken the wax. Pure bees wax only to be used. One tea-spoon of vinegar helps to clarify wax.
6. Mead 750 ml clear glass bottle with removable cork or screw top.
No labels on bottle.
Write your initials (which may be on a small sticky label) on the BASE of the exhibit.
Gadget Day
Have you made something for beekeeping, or been gifted a gadget and wondered… did it actually work?
Got an idea or a project on the go, but not quite there yet? Bring it along. This is a great chance to get input, ideas, and a bit of guidance from others.
Don’t keep it to yourself — whether it’s a success, a failure, or still a work in progress, there’s plenty to learn and share.
Gadget Day is all about helping each other, learning from mistakes, and having a bit of fun along the way.
Come along, share what you’ve got, and see what others have been working on — you might be surprised what you pick up.

Christchurch Hobbyist Bee Club – Club Dinner
2026-04-16 18:00 | Ara | Visions On Campus Restaurant, Visions On Campus Restaurant, Ara City Campus Cnr Madras & Ferry Road St, Saint Asaph Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011, Christchurch, 8011
Christchurch Hobbyist Bee Club – Club Dinner
The Christchurch Hobbyist Bee Club invites members to join us for a special evening of fine dining and good company.
This will be a great opportunity to catch up with fellow members and enjoy a relaxed evening together.

Event Details
Date: Thursday 16 April 2026Location: Ara Restaurant160 Madras Street, Christchurch
Cost: $50 per person
The evening includes a 3-course à la carte dinner.

$40 goes toward your meal
$10 supports the club

Menu – Visions Dinner Menu 2026
Starters

Rooftop honey glazed Whitestone halloumiroasted carrots, wild rice, romesco, mandarin (GF, DF, V)
Risotto with prawns and baconbell peppers, arugula salad, crème fraîche (GF)
Roasted chicken consommémushroom tortellini, madeira espuma
Baharat roasted eggplantbabaganoush, coconut labne, pomegranate, pistachios (GF, Vegan)
Cider braised pork bellyWaldorf salad, caramelised celeriac puree, apple gastrique (GF, DF)

Mains

Slow cooked beef osso buccomarinated mushrooms, agra galette, bone marrow gremolata crumb, saffron (DF)
Salt baked heirloom beetrootcrisp panisse, spiced chickpeas, preserved lemon, beet jam (GF, Vegan)
Pan seared Akaroa salmonsmoked tomato and corn salsa, leaf spinach, jalapeño corn custard (GF, DF)
Roasted chicken ballotinecranberry quinoa stuffing, maple peanut glaze, butternut, broccolini, edamame (GF, DF)
Ras el Hanout grilled lambparsnips, lamb shank pastilla, braised Swiss chard, cinnamon jus

Desserts

Weave cacao 70% chocolate moussecoconut sorbet, orange, passionfruit pearls, Brazil nut crumble (Vegan)
Salted caramel Bavarian creamsteamed ginger sponge, poached pear, caramel, walnuts (GF)

Booking and Payment
Cost: $50 per person
Club Bank Account:030767032330700
Please make payment including your name and the number of people attending the dinner.
Once payment has been made, text David to confirm your booking.
Contact:David – 027 360 1398

Don’t miss out – it will be a fantastic evening with fellow club members.

Last Club Day of the Season – Saturday 2nd May
2026-05-02 09:30 - 12:30 | Club, 681 Cashmere Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8025, New Zealand
We’re hoping for good weather so we can run a special mead-making demonstration using your own honey. Nick will be showing members how to turn their honey into mead and get even more enjoyment from the products their bees produce.
Preparing Your Hives for Winter
Now is the time to winter down your hives — some beekeepers have already started. We’ll be discussing:

Have your treatments been completed and checked?
Are food supplies sufficient for winter?
Should you move your hive to get more sunshine?
What should you be doing now to avoid winter losses?

We’ll also inspect the hives on site, see what’s happening, and talk through any issues. If things are looking a bit worrying, don’t panic — come along and we’ll help you make a plan.
Need Help? Bring Your Questions
There are no guest speakers this month, which means more time for members to ask questions, share experiences, and get practical advice.
Also Happening on the Day

Raffle tickets available (cash only – no credit)
Committee nominations will be open on site

Looking Ahead
Please note the AGM will be held in August. More details will be shared closer to the date.
We look forward to seeing you there for a great final Club Day of the season.

AFB Recognition Course
2026-05-16 09:00 - 15:00 | NTA McLeans Island Campus, 890 McLeans Island Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8051, New Zealand
A powerful tool in the fight against AFB is education. Our training courses inform beekeepers of their legal obligations and equip them to identify AFB and eliminate it from their beekeeping operations using best practice methods. Courses cover everything beekeepers need to know from disease identification to the destruction of AFB-infected equipment.
https://www.nzbb.org.nz/courses/p/christchurchmay2026

AFB Recognition Refresher Course
2026-08-29 09:00 - 11:00 | NTA McLeans Island Campus, 890 McLeans Island Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8051, New Zealand
A powerful tool in the fight against AFB is education. Our training courses inform beekeepers of their legal obligations and equip them to identify AFB and eliminate it from their beekeeping operations using best practice methods. Courses cover everything beekeepers need to know from disease identification to the destruction of AFB-infected equipment.
https://www.nzbb.org.nz/courses/p/christchurchrfaug2026

AFB Recognition Course
2026-10-17 09:00 - 15:00 | NTA McLeans Island Campus, 890 McLeans Island Road, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8051, New Zealand
A powerful tool in the fight against AFB is education. Our training courses inform beekeepers of their legal obligations and equip them to identify AFB and eliminate it from their beekeeping operations using best practice methods. Courses cover everything beekeepers need to know from disease identification to the destruction of AFB-infected equipment.
https://www.nzbb.org.nz/courses/p/christchurchoctober2026
