Protecting New Zealand Bees – Vigilance, Surveillance, and Why Beekeepers Matter
- Patrick Dawkins
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
A Tasman‑based hobby beekeeper, Ilona Hart has worked in apiculture for many years and now leads delivery of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ National Apiculture Surveillance Programme (NASP) through AsureQuality Limited. We sit down with Hart to find out how the programme is working to protect beekeepers' livelihoods, and where they might cross paths with her and her team of beekeepers.
Apiarist’s Advocate: Ilona, we first met you in 2021 (Ilona Hart, Kaitiaki Kai, Food Guardian), but your role has shifted since then — can you start by explaining what you’re doing now?
Ilona Hart: One of my responsibilities is leading the operational delivery of the NASP, a role I’ve held since late 2024. At its core, NASP, together with beekeepers monitoring and reporting on anything unusual or unexpected, gives New Zealand the best possible chance of detecting an exotic honey bee pest or disease early — early enough that eradication is still a realistic option. It also plays an important role in supporting our market access by underpinning New Zealand’s claims about what we don’t have.
An important part of my role is working across the apiculture industry, beekeepers and MPI to ensure the NASP is delivered in a way that works as well as it can for everyone and provides critical information about exotic pests and diseases.
AA: Surveillance can sound quite abstract. What does it actually involve?
IH: At its simplest: hive inspections and laboratory testing. But there are two distinct parts to how NASP works.
The first is high‑risk zone surveillance. There are 19 designated high‑risk zones around the country — places like ports, airports, transitional facilities, major towns, and high‑traffic tourist areas. These zones are reviewed annually using information about import pathways, movement patterns, and risks relevant to beekeeping.
Within those zones, authorised inspectors — experienced beekeepers trained and warranted by MPI — inspect selected apiaries under AsureQuality oversight. They’re looking carefully at hive condition and collect standardised samples of adult bees and sticky boards which are then analysed by MPI laboratories for signs of exotic pests or diseases.
AA: So the focus is mainly around ports and cities?
IH: That’s where the risk pathways are concentrated, but it’s only half the story.
The second part of the programme is low‑risk apiary screening, which is done in collaboration with live bee exporters. Each season, adult bee samples are submitted from hundreds of apiaries supplying the export trade and are laboratory screened. That broadens coverage significantly and increases the overall sensitivity of the programme.
Together, those two components give us surveillance across both high‑risk entry points and widely distributed production systems. But even with all that, formal surveillance is only part of our biosecurity system.
AA: What makes beekeeper involvement so critical?
IH: Our inspectors play a critical role, but they aren’t the only ones keeping watch. Beekeepers are in their hives far more often, and that day‑to‑day familiarity means they’re often the first to notice when something feels “off” — behaviour, brood pattern, timing, or anything outside the norm.
AFB inspectors, although operating under separate warrants, also spend time in colonies and can occasionally identify anything that appears unusual.
These combined observations add value to New Zealand’s surveillance system.
If a beekeeper does spot something unusual, a quick call to the MPI Biosecurity Hotline (0800 80 99 66) gets the right response underway fast.
We also rely on beekeepers supporting access to their hives for inspection and sampling for NASP.
AA: What are the key threats you’re watching for?
IH: We’re looking for a range of exotic pests and diseases that are classified as notifiable under New Zealand’s biosecurity legislation. These include small hive beetle (Aethina tumida), Asian honey bee mites such as Tropilaelaps species, tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi), European foulbrood (Melissococcus plutonius), the parasitic fly (Braula coeca), and exotic Varroa species.
We also look for exotic honey bee species and subspecies — any bees not currently present in New Zealand. These include African honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) and their hybrids or ‘Africanised’ bees, the Cape honey bee (Apis mellifera capensis), and the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana). Exotic bee species are a concern not only because of their behaviour and impact, but because they can also carry pests and diseases that pose a risk to both the apiculture industry and the wider environment.
Many of the organisms we’re watching for have caused serious economic and ecological damage in countries where they’ve become established. New Zealand’s freedom from them remains one of the strongest protections our beekeeping industry has.
AA: If a beekeeper is in a high‑risk zone, what should they expect?
IH: If an apiary is selected, an inspector will get in touch to arrange a suitable time. We carry out inspections in autumn each year. The inspections follow nationally consistent procedures, and beekeepers are welcome to be present if they wish.
All samples go to MPI laboratories, and all results and inspection information are treated confidentially. Beekeepers are only contacted directly if something of concern is found, and MPI leads any follow‑up investigation.
AA: Can you talk me through the procedures a bit? What will the inspectors do in the hives?
IH: Every hive in the selected apiary will be inspected following standard procedures:
Sticky board deployment – A sticky board is inserted on the base of each hive, and miticide strips are applied for approximately 24 hours to induce mite drop and enable detection of external mites.
Bee sampling – Adult bee samples are collected for laboratory testing, including tracheal mite detection.
Visual checks – Inspectors examine brood frames and hive interiors for clinical signs of exotic pests and diseases.
Documentation – Any abnormal signs observed at colony or apiary level are recorded for follow-up.
AA: What does ‘follow-up’ entail?
IH: If something looks suspicious a sample of the suspect pest or disease will be collected if appropriate and sent to the lab as well. The hive will then be reassembled and marked for potential further investigation. If there are positive results or further information is required, MPI will launch an exotic pest or disease investigation.
You will only be notified of test results if they are positive or further investigation is required.
AA: Some beekeepers are wary of inspections. How is the programme usually received?
IH: For the most part, very well. Having an experienced beekeeper look through your hives can be a useful learning opportunity, particularly for recognising pests and diseases we don’t have here yet.
It’s also important to stress that this programme is voluntary. NASP relies on participation and trust to work. Voluntary systems only work when people believe their contribution genuinely matters.
AA: What’s the takeaway you’d like readers to sit with?
IH: Our hives aren’t isolated from one another. Bees move across properties and regions, and a naïve population would feel the impact of an exotic incursion very quickly.
Surveillance programmes help, but they can’t replace observant, engaged beekeepers. Taking the time to look closely, asking questions when something feels off, and reporting concerns early protects not just individual operations, but the wider industry and New Zealand’s trade position.
Further information:
And if you have any questions at all about the NASP, get in touch: Ilona.hart@asurequality.com or Apiary@AsureQuality.com or phone: 027 597 6285; 0508 00 11 22
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