Greed killing off our bees
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 fraction compared to other countries, but experts warn 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 the industries 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
‘‘We used to have apiaries a kilometre apart, now apiaries are much bigger than they used to be, and way too close.’’ Beekeeper Murray Bush
fetching a premium price on the overseas market, 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.
‘‘We haven’t had that in New Zealand up until recently, and now we’re stressing bees out by transporting them around the country, chasing the ma¯ nuka. That didn’t happen four years or so ago, now you’ll get probably 100,000 bees on the roads every month from Kaitaia to Bluff. There’s not enough food to go round and people are even feeding their bees supplements.’’
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.
‘‘Many of the pests and diseases that negatively impact beehives overseas are not present in New Zealand, and we have a robust biosecurity system to prevent them from coming into the country and deal with them if they do.’’
The United States lost about 35 per cent of its colonies in 2005 and 2006 and continued to lose large numbers. Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain and Wales each lost more than 20 per cent of their hives in 2016.
The ministry’s report on the survey said the rapid expansion of the ma¯ nuka honey industry meant there was increased competition for leased apiary space.
Commercial beekeepers who leased land were sometimes evicted in favour of another apiarist, and about a third of survey respondents had lost an apiary site to another beekeeper in the past year.
The survey report said while the findings were good, it was ‘‘critical’’ the Government, industry and beekeepers committed to continued monitoring.
Bush said he was worried people would become complacent over the 10 per cent loss rate.
‘‘If we’re not careful that 10 per cent will become 30 per cent. I’m not saying it will happen next year but it will happen. It’s impossible to have a cure because there’s no single cause, there are so many variables at play.
‘‘But it’s just education. Spread out your beehives and don’t be greedy, there’s only so much food to go round. We’ve got to take care of our apiaries.’’