A New Chapter for Beekeeping on Hawaiʻi Island

​

 

With the passage of Bill 144, now enacted as Ordinance 24-65, Hawaiʻi County created a clearer path for responsible apiary management while recognizing the important role bees and beekeepers play in supporting agriculture, pollination, and our island communities.

 

Hawaiʻi County’s current code now includes an entire article devoted to the management of apiaries and beekeeping. 

 

Bill 144 represents more than a change in county code. It reflects a growing understanding that healthy bees, responsible beekeeping, agriculture, and community well-being are deeply connected.

 

Bill 144 and the Future of Beekeeping on Hawaiʻi Island

 

In 2024, Hawaiʻi County took a significant step forward with Bill 144, legislation created specifically to address apiaries and beekeeping.

 

The measure established generally accepted apiary-management practices and added apiaries as permitted uses in 17 zoning district classifications, including residential and agricultural districts, commercial and industrial districts, the resort-hotel district, the open district, and the Downtown Hilo Commercial District. 

 

The ordinance recognizes the critical role honeybees play in pollinating food crops and furnishing agricultural products such as honey, wax, and queen bees.

 

It was designed to support healthy apiaries, reduce undesirable bee behavior, address pests, and discourage hive abandonment. 

 

For local beekeepers, Bill 144 created something important: greater clarity about where apiaries may be located and how they should be managed responsibly.

 

The law creates a framework that supports beekeeping while also setting standards intended to protect colony health, neighboring properties, public safety, and the larger community.

 

Why Bees Matter So Much to Hawaiʻi Island

 

Bees are far more than producers of honey.

 

They are essential pollinators that help flowering plants reproduce, support food production, contribute to agriculture, and strengthen the ecosystems around us.

 

Their work happens quietly every day as they move from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen.

 

On Hawaiʻi Island, bees contribute to home gardens, farms, orchards, tropical crops, flowering landscapes, and agricultural operations of many different sizes.

 

Healthy pollinator populations help support resilient food systems, and responsible beekeeping can help strengthen that relationship.

 

At Tracy Bees, we believe that caring for bees means looking at the entire environment around the hive.

 

Healthy bees depend on healthy forage, clean water, thoughtful management, responsible land stewardship, and educated communities.

 

That is why legislation such as Bill 144 matters.

 

What Bill 144 Means for Beekeepers

 

Bill 144 established what Hawaiʻi County describes as generally accepted apiary-management practices.

 

These practices are designed to encourage healthy colonies while helping reduce potential problems between apiaries and surrounding communities. 

 

Among the practices included in the ordinance are:

 

Regular hive inspections to help maintain colony health and identify potential issues before they become serious.

 

Maintaining sound and usable hives with removable frames so colonies can be properly inspected and managed.

 

Providing an adequate and accessible source of fresh water for the bees.

 

Protecting hives from bright lights at night.

 

Managing colonies proactively to help prevent swarming.

 

Using proper sanitation practices to help reduce disease, robbing, small hive beetles, wax moths, varroa mites, and other hive-health concerns.

 

Cleaning reused hive equipment thoroughly before returning it to service.

 

Supporting year-round bee activity with appropriate non-invasive seasonal flowers and plant species suited to the regional climate.

 

Practicing safe smoker use and making sure smokers are completely extinguished after use.

 

Requeening colonies when aggressive behavior is observed.

 

Considering neighboring properties when locating hives and placing colonies as thoughtfully as possible.

 

Responding respectfully to concerns or complaints from neighbors and working toward mutually agreeable solutions. 

 

Together, these practices encourage a style of beekeeping that is attentive, responsible, educated, and community-minded.

 

Hive Placement and Responsible Apiary Siting

 

Bill 144 also addresses where hives may be placed.

 

The county code states that apiaries on lots smaller than 20,000 square feet are generally limited to no more than 15 honeybee hives, although the director may grant an exemption.

 

Apiaries must generally be located at least 25 feet from any property line.

 

When situated behind a qualifying flyover barrier, the required distance is reduced to 15 feet. 

 

A flyover barrier can include a solid wall, fence, dense vegetation, or a combination of these features that encourages bees to fly upward rather than directly through nearby areas. 

 

These standards are designed to create balance.

 

They allow people to keep bees while encouraging thoughtful hive placement and awareness of neighboring homes, animals, and public spaces.

 

Responsible beekeeping is not only about what happens inside the hive.

 

It also includes understanding how the placement and management of a colony can affect the larger community.

 

Healthy Colonies Begin With Responsible Stewardship

 

A strong bee colony requires ongoing care.

 

Beekeepers must understand colony behavior, recognize signs of stress or disease, monitor pest pressures, maintain equipment, ensure access to water, and observe changes in colony temperament.

 

Pests such as varroa mites, small hive beetles, and wax moths can weaken colonies when they are not properly managed.

 

Hawaiʻi County’s ordinance specifically includes sanitation and pest mitigation among its accepted management practices. 

 

Good sanitation and careful observation are therefore essential parts of responsible beekeeping.

 

Bill 144 reinforces the idea that successful beekeeping is not simply about placing a hive on a property and walking away.

 

It is an ongoing relationship between the beekeeper, the colony, the surrounding environment, and the community.

 

Agriculture, Pollination, and Hawaiʻi’s Future

 

The importance of bees extends far beyond individual apiaries.

 

Pollination is one of the most valuable services bees provide.

 

As honeybees move between flowers, they carry pollen that helps plants reproduce.

 

This natural process supports fruits, seeds, vegetables, flowering plants, and agricultural crops.

 

The county ordinance specifically recognizes bees for their contribution to agriculture and food-crop pollination, as well as for the agricultural products they provide. 

 

Beekeepers also contribute to Hawaiʻi Island through honey production, queen breeding, pollination services, education, hive management, and agricultural support.

 

The healthier our pollinators are, the stronger the relationship between agriculture, biodiversity, and food production can become.

 

A Community Effort Years in the Making

 

The passage of Bill 144 did not happen overnight.

 

It was the result of years of collaboration involving local beekeepers, agricultural advocates, community members, county officials, and organizations committed to the future of beekeeping on Hawaiʻi Island.

 

The Big Island Beekeepers Association publicly celebrated the measure becoming law and credited the office of Ashley Kierkiewicz with leading a collaborative effort lasting more than six years.

 

The association also thanked Mayor Roth, local beekeepers, and state and county partners for helping move the legislation forward. 

 

The Windward Planning Commission also issued a favorable recommendation for Bill 144 before it moved forward through the County Council process. 

 

The result was legislation designed to support both beekeeping and responsible community stewardship.

 

What This Means for Tracy Bees

 

As a member of the Big Island Beekeepers Association, Tracy Bees is grateful to be connected to a community that values education, pollinator health, responsible beekeeping, agriculture, and thoughtful stewardship.

 

For us, bees are never simply a symbol.

 

They are teachers, pollinators, agricultural partners, and one of the most remarkable examples of cooperation found in the natural world.

 

Our work at Tracy Bees is rooted in helping people understand the importance of bees and the ecosystems that support them.

 

We believe that meaningful bee protection begins with education, responsible stewardship, healthy habitats, thoughtful policy, and community cooperation.

 

Bill 144 reflects many of those same values.

 

It creates a framework that allows beekeeping to grow while emphasizing colony health, thoughtful hive placement, responsible management, and respect for surrounding communities.

 

A Stronger Future for Bees and Beekeepers

 

The future of beekeeping depends on more than protecting individual colonies.

 

It depends on creating environments where bees can thrive.

 

That means planting diverse flowering plants, protecting natural habitats, supporting responsible beekeepers, educating communities, and creating policies that recognize the importance of pollinators.

 

Bill 144 represents an important step in that direction for Hawaiʻi Island.

 

It gives beekeepers greater clarity while also establishing expectations for responsible apiary management.

 

Most importantly, it recognizes that bees are an important part of Hawaiʻi Island’s agricultural and ecological future.

 

From the Tracy Bees Hive

 

Protecting bees begins with knowledge.

 

It grows through responsible stewardship, respect for the land, cooperation within our communities, and the understanding that the health of our pollinators is deeply connected to the health of the world around us.

 

At Tracy Bees, we are grateful for the beekeepers, educators, farmers, agricultural partners, community members, and public officials who continue working toward a future where bees and people can thrive together.

 

We believe every healthy hive, every pollinated flower, every responsible beekeeper, and every person who chooses to learn more about bees helps strengthen that future.

 

The story of Bill 144 is ultimately a story about cooperation between people, agriculture, community, and the remarkable pollinators that help sustain the world around us.

​​​​​​​​​​​