'I'M A Kiwi author Josie BEE-LIEVER!'

Her life has been a hive of activity since falling in love with the honeymaker

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W took her son Sam to a local A&P show in Pukekohe, a town south of Auckland, the young lad was entranced with the beekeeping display.

“We always encouraged Sam's interests, like when he was into rock tumbling and made jewellery to sell to our friends!” says Josie of that chance encounter 14 years ago. “So when he saw the display hive and was asked if he could spot the queen, he announced that he'd like to keep bees.”

Wary of letting a 12-year-old loose with the buzzy creatures, Josie, a former scientist, signed up for a night class with a local beekeeping club.

“It was a little late at night for Sam, so I went along and came home and shared what I'd learned,” she recalls.

However, the doting mum could never have imagined where her adventures in apiculture would lead her, as it was during the very first class that she learned about Mary Bumby, sister of Wesleyan missionary John Bumby, who brought the first hives of honey bees to New Zealand in 1839.

“I was really just supporting Sam and it wasn't until I had my first hive that I realised how immersive beekeeping can be,” she tells. “Once my first hive was in place and the bees were learning their new home, I'd check on them every day.