Frequently Asked Questions

Bees are a crucial part of our ecosystem and though they have been under threat for quite some time, we have not experienced a decline in our bee numbers in recent years. We attribute our high bee numbers to careful management of hives and our proven beekeeping methods, backed by three generations of Hantz Honey experience since 1944. 

With three generations of Hantz wisdom, some of our processes have stayed the same, and some have evolved, always with the health of our hives as the priority. In just one of the many ways we do things our own way is that while most the industry re-queen their hives in spring, we prefer to re-queen our hives in Autumn, which we’ve proven to be more beneficial to the success of the hive. 


Absolutely nothing is added to creamed honey... this honey starts out as liquid honey which has been stirred for a period of time in creaming tanks. This process aerates the honey leaving you with a thick, smooth, creamy honey.

Please use caution when spraying around bees. Any spraying chemicals should have clear instructions on the packaging to advise about safe spraying. We recommend you be wary of sprays and if spraying is to be done, the best time is at dusk or early in the morning when field bees are not flying. 

Honey bees all around the world are under threat due to infestations such as Varroa, disease and pesticide use. Bees are now reliant on humans to protect then. Here are some things you can do to help:

• Plant some bee-friendly plants in your gardens for bees to visit! Bees love blue and purple flowers best. They love sunflowers, lavender and jasmine.
• Plant flowers for each season to provide a steady source of nectar and pollen all year round.
• Avoid spraying when plants are in flower or bees are present. The best time is at sunset.
• Provide fresh drinking water for bees.
• Bees can’t fly in the rain! So avoid watering flowering plants when bees are present.
• For more bee friendly information visit www.treesforbeesnz.org
• For more information about beekeeping in New Zealand visit: https://apinz.org.nz/ 


Bees are a crucial part of our ecosystem and are also vital for our plant life so it’s up to all of us to protect them. Here are some other facts that make the bee special:

• Bees are the only insects that produce food eaten by humans.
• We rely on bees to help grow food we eat. About 1/3 of what we eat is directly/indirectly attributed to honeybee pollination.
• Honey bees are dancers! They can communicate with each other about the direction and distance of pollen and nectar by the way they move their bodies – it’s called the “waggle dance”.
• The energy in one tablespoon of honey is enough for a bee to fly halfway round the world.
• A busy hive can make at least a kilogram of honey in a day.
• Honey is one of the safest foods – most harmful bacteria cannot live in honey for any length of time. 


Certainly not... our honey is not pasteurized, it is only heated enough to get it out of the drum as all honey packers have to do. All the pollen stays in the honey, only "extras" like wax, bee parts etc. are filtered out of the honey. It is very much raw, natural honey on your supermarket shelf... if it is Hantz Honey!