"There are at least four beekeepers within a mile of their home in Kalaheo, as the bees fly, yet honey harvested in the same month can taste completely different." That is how Ariel Bishop, a beekeeper and bee educator, described it to Kauaʻi Now this month.
The idea that a jar can tell you which part of Kalaheo it came from is the reason the Kauaʻi Beekeepers Association is holding its first honey competition. It is also the beekeepers' best argument in a zoning debate that has been on hold since August. Under current county rules, honeybees may be kept only in agricultural zones. So the tasting in Līhuʻe this month and the zoning case before the Planning Commission are one story.
Why Neighboring Hives Produce Different Honey
As Kauaʻi Now reported, the island's microclimates, elevations, plants and seasons all shape a honey's color, aroma and flavor, and beekeepers living close to one another can produce noticeably different honey. Bishop's example of four Kalaheo beekeepers within a mile of each other shows how small that distance can be.
At least one commercial producer works across that range. Kauai Nectar Co. sells raw Kauaʻi honey and says its apiaries run from Kalaheo north to Kalihiwai Ridge. On the South Shore, the Kauaʻi Grown directory lists Honi Honi Honey, owned by Chris Kauwe, as a south- and west-side honey.
There is a larger reason Kauaʻi beekeepers care about their own hives. "Our island remains Varroa-free," Bishop told Kauaʻi Now, calling Varroa mites "one of the most serious threats to managed honeybees" and noting that other Hawaiian islands have already felt the effects. In May, the same outlet reported that the Kauaʻi Community College apiary project breeds queen bees partly to protect the island from those mites, which can arrive through illegally imported bees or equipment.
What Lowell Did to the Flowers
This year's honey comes with an extra complication. Hurricane Lowell made its closest approach the night of September 7, passing west of Niʻihau, and the National Weather Service says Kauaʻi and Niʻihau got the strongest winds. Kalaheo's rain gauge logged 4.07 inches over the storm reporting period.
Most hives seem to have come through. According to Kauaʻi Now, the hives at the Kauaʻi Community College apiary were mostly secure. The tall production hives had been strapped down, though lids blew off some of the others and a lychee tree on site snapped. Bishop said fallen trees made some apiaries hard to reach, and some beekeepers reported losses from rising water.
The longer-term worry is forage, meaning the flowering trees and plants bees feed on. Bishop described her own approach after the storm:
"As many of the plants that are currently blooming as I can and will do the trimming later, when there's more abundance."
She was explaining what she is leaving in place in her own yard. For anyone in Kalaheo still clearing storm debris, this is a practical point. A flowering hedge you were planning to cut back may be one of the few things blooming for the hives nearby.
A Tasting Built to Start a Zoning Conversation
Bishop told Kauaʻi Now that the Kauaʻi Honey Challenge grew out of the debate over Bill 2997, which brought out what she called widespread fear and misunderstanding about bees. "Not everyone is eager to keep bees, but just about everyone can appreciate good honey," she said. The format borrows from the Big Island Beekeepers Association, which has run a statewide honey challenge for about 15 years. Kauaʻi beekeepers have entered it, and some have won.
The schedule has two dates:
- Saturday, Oct. 17, at Kauaʻi Community College. A panel of local chefs, sommeliers, food writers and honey enthusiasts judges light, medium and dark liquid honey on aroma, flavor and overall complexity. The judges stay anonymous until judging is done, and every beekeeper gets written feedback that includes food pairing ideas.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 4 to 8 p.m., at the Rice Street Block Party in downtown Līhuʻe. The honey moves to a free People's Choice tasting open to the public.
The Oct. 24 table is the closest most of us will get to tasting Bishop's point side by side. If several Kalaheo beekeepers enter, the difference between neighboring hives will be right there in the samples.
What Bill 2997 Would Change
The Kauaʻi County Council unanimously passed Bill 2997 on first reading on May 20 and sent it to the Planning Commission for review and public testimony. The draft, posted by Bees on Kauaʻi, would list apiaries as a permitted use well beyond agricultural land. That includes residential districts R-1 through R-6 and R-10 through R-20, plus Residential Rural, neighborhood and general commercial, both industrial districts, Open and University zones.
The draft also sets ground rules for those apiaries:
- A maximum of 15 hives on lots under 20,000 square feet, unless the Director approves a written exception
- Hives set back 25 feet from property lines, or 15 feet with a flyover barrier
- Regular apiary inspections
- Weatherproof hives with removable frames
- Fresh water on site, swarm management, protection from bright lights, and safe smoker use
Bishop put the goal this way to Kauaʻi Now: "It's simply about giving the responsible people the ability to keep bees legally and respectfully, without criminalizing." She added that some places are not appropriate for bees. Exactly how any final version would apply to a particular Kalaheo lot depends on that parcel's zoning and on the language the county finally adopts.
Where the Bill Stands This Week
The bill has been stalled since summer. At its Aug. 11 hearing, after about an hour and a half of public testimony, the Planning Commission deferred the related zoning amendment, ZA-2026-8. It asked the Planning Department and local beekeepers to work out more public-safety measures first, even though the department had recommended preliminary approval. Kauaʻi Now quoted Commissioner Glenda Nogami Streufert: "I fully support bees. In fact, I would love to have more bees in our area so that we would have more food, but the fact of the matter is that there's a safety concern."
The amendment was supposed to come back in September. Instead, inclement weather pushed the commission's Sept. 8 meeting to Sept. 15, and then the county's fire and storm response pushed that meeting to Oct. 13, which is tomorrow. We could not confirm from the posted agenda whether ZA-2026-8 is on it. Bill 2997 is not on the County Council's Oct. 14 agenda. For now, the outcome is still undecided. The county's Planning Commission page lists upcoming meetings.
Tasting and Learning Close to Home
Until Oct. 24, and after it, here are a few named places to start:
- Kauai Nectar Co. sells raw honey online from apiaries that include Kalaheo.
- Honi Honi Honey is listed by Kauaʻi Grown at the Wednesday Kauai Culinary Market in Koloa at Nana's Bananas, Kukuiula Market, The Wine Shop and Koa Kea Resort. That listing is undated, so check with the producer before you drive over.
- The Kauaʻi Beekeepers Association describes itself as an islandwide group offering informal workshops, apiary visits and talks on safe, sustainable beekeeping. Its club page is where to begin.
- Kauaʻi Community College runs an apiary project at 3-1901 Kaumualiʻi Highway in Līhuʻe and lists continuing-education beekeeping classes. Its credit certificate information dates to 2019, so ask about current enrollment.
Kauaʻi Now cites the USDA's figure that bees handle about 75% of the pollination of fruits, nuts and vegetables in the United States. Hawaiʻi crops that depend on them include avocado, citrus, coffee, macadamia nuts and passion fruit.
We're Kalaheo neighbors too, and we'll be watching what the Planning Commission does with ZA-2026-8. If you'd like help looking up which zoning district your parcel is in, or you're curious how your garden and grounds fit into your home's value, Kelly Liberatore is glad to talk it through. Request Your Home Valuation, and we'll start with your property as it stands today.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
