Tauranga Farmer's Market will be abuzz tomorrow, with stallholders flying home the message to visitors of how important bees are to the creation of produce at their stalls.

Market manager Trixie Allen says stallholders are getting behind September's Bee Aware Month to show customers their reliance on bees to pollinate their crops, which in turn helps to create their produce – and ultimately their livelihoods.

Kaimai Beekeepers Ralph and Jody Mitchell. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

'We want people to take away an awareness of just how we do all rely on bees – right down to the bakers,” says Trixie.

'It's not just the beekeepers, who collect the honey for us, but also right the way through the chain how bees are used for food production,” says Trixie.

'We have bakers who use honey as part of their ingredients, there's fruit producers who obviously need bees; and a certain element of vegetable producers – such as tomatoes, which use bumble bee hives.”

Trixie says tomorrow's stallholders will have bee-friendly signs and displays 'of how they interact with and use bees”.

Kaimai Beekeepers Ralph and Jody Mitchell, who own multi-award winning Kaimai Range Honey, will have a live bee display with a segment of a hive at the market so people can see bees at work.

Their Kaimai Range Honey stall exclusively supplies export grade raw specialty honey to the market – with honey tasting, demonstrations, and bee-related giveaways.

'Jody will also have a hive with no bees to show people the components that make up a hive,” says Trixie.

Jody says nearly all fruit and vegetables depend on bee pollination – but bees also rely on humans.

'Bees worldwide, and in New Zealand, are at the stage where if we're not farming or physically looking after them they won't survive – so they need us and we need them.”

Jody says the biggest things market visitors can do to help bees is be careful using sprays in their own gardens – and plant trees and plants that supply bees with good pollen and nectar.

'People have to realise even water can kill bees, if they get chilled when flying on a cold day or late afternoon.

'A lot of sprays which say they're bee-friendly only mean they won't kill the bees outright, with the surfactant in the spray often more deadly than the chemical spray itself.”

Jody says during summer bees can be out from 5am-9pm, so people shouldn't spray from dawn until dusk when they're flying around.

'Some spray operators packhouse managers still have a policy of starting to spray orchards from 5pm.

'We believe some think the bees are disposable when their pollination work is done, so we try and stay away from problematic orchards and support those who respect the bees.”

Jody suggests lavender, rosemary or citrus trees to attract bees into your garden – 'so don't just think manuka, as it's harder for bees to take up and they take the easier nectar source first”.

'So check out the National Beekeeping Association of New Zealand or the Trees for Bees websites to see what best suits your area.”

Today's Tauranga Farmers' Market is at Tauranga Primary School from 7.45am to noon.