Mānuka plant, bees & New Zealand origin
National-scale mapping of potential floral resources for honeybees and native pollinators in New Zealand
Authors: James K. McCarthy et al.
PLAIN-LANGUAGE SUMMARY
The study combined New Zealand land-cover and environmental maps with a large vegetation-plot dataset to estimate the location and monthly timing of floral resources. Indigenous cover, especially public conservation land, dominated modeled resources, and historical forest clearance was estimated to have reduced national sugar and pollen production.
Reported result
The model estimated that forest clearance reduced national sugar production by 38.8% and pollen production by 34.7%, with indigenous vegetation contributing strongly to remaining resources.
Study design
plant-ecology
Mānuka plant, bees and New Zealand origin
Tested material
New Zealand land-cover and environmental datasets, vegetation plots, species abundance and phenology information, and modeled nectar, pollen and honeydew resources; no retail honey was tested.
Limitations
The authors report substantial uncertainty from input maps, modeled species composition, temperature masks and incomplete production data. Formal validation against hive-yield data was unavailable, and they explicitly warn against using the maps to calculate local honey yield directly.
Funding & conflicts
Supported by New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Programme C09X1608 and Strategic Science Investment funds. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Applicability guardrail
These are comparative national-scale model estimates, not direct measurements for every apiary, season or native pollinator population and not a guarantee of honey yield.
Scientific reference
James K. McCarthy et al. (2025). National-scale mapping of potential floral resources for honeybees and native pollinators in New Zealand. Ecological Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70041
Editorial record
Responsible publisher: Manuka Drops Limited. Record updated: 2026-08-28. Retraction check recorded: 2026-08-27. Retraction status: checked-no-retraction-signal. Editorial status: published. Read the methodology.
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