NZ running out of bee space
As demand for ma¯ nuka honey peaks, so does the risk of disease and starvation in New Zealand’s increasingly competitive beekeeping industry.
New Zealand lost 10 per cent of its beehives last year, a small number compared with other countries, but experts are warning a boom in the industry could lead to exponential hive losses.
The Ministry of Primary Industry’s third annual survey on beehive losses was answered by 2066 beekeepers, representing 30 per cent of the country’s bee colonies.
It warns that as the number of bee colonies rises, good beekeeping practices must be maintained to prevent the devastating hive losses seen in the United States and several European countries.
J Bush and Sons managing director Murray Bush, whose family has been beekeeping in Marlborough for a century, said the New Zealand industry was starting to look a lot like those in countries that were struggling.
‘‘That 10 per cent figure is a false sense of security. It’s good, but we’re on the brink of not good. We’ve put so many hives on the ground over the last few years and we’ve gone from a pretty sustainable industry to one where we’re pushing the bee numbers too far,’’ Bush said.
While ma¯ nuka honey was fetching a premium price on the overseas market, especially in Asia, colonies in New Zealand increased by 18 per cent to record figures between June 2016 and June 2017, and had increased 20 per cent the year before.
‘‘Now there’s too many bees being put too close together. We used to have apiaries a kilometre apart, now apiaries are much bigger than they used to be, and way too close. That means disease is increasing too,’’ Bush said.
The survey found the main reasons for hive losses were queen bees dying or disappearing; suspected varroa mite infestations; bees suspected to have starved to death; and wasps killing bees, eating pupae and stealing honey. Ministry biosecurity surveillance and incursion investigation manager Dr Michael Taylor said losses had been fairly stable, with
10.73 per cent lost in 2015, and
9.78 per cent in 2016.
The US lost about 35 per cent of its colonies in 2005 and
2006 and continued to lose large numbers each year since. Ireland, North Ireland, Spain and Wales each lost more than 20 per cent of their hives in 2016.