Varroa mite was a hot topic, among a wide range of beekeeping discussions over three days at The Beekeepers Conference 2024, August 11-13 in Whanganui. Hosted by the Southern North Island Beekeeping Group, there were a plethora of valuable insights offered from beekeepers, scientists, and industry leaders.
Around 100 people attended each day, with the vast majority coming from the lower North Island, but also a sizeable contingent from Bay of Plenty. At a time of year where brood rearing is building up quickly in hives, and with it varroa mites, the focus on the ectoparasite of honey bees was timely.
On that topic, visiting speaker and ‘scientific beekeeper’ Randy Oliver of California, who flew in for a whistle-stop trip to impart his knowledge, was a highlight. Beekeepers gleaned many nuggets of knowledge as he discussed the findings from more than a decade of in-hive trials. With a speaking slot on each of the three days, Oliver presented a range of varroa control strategies and tips, including detailing his business’s success in breeding bees for varroa resistance, their numerous trials using organic varroa controls, and even his research into nosema. Observations from those talks are presented in Randy Oliver’s Greatest Hits.
Oliver was far from the only apiarist to take to the stage though, with the likes of Wayne Fuller from New South Wales detailing small hive beetle, and veteran Kiwi beekeepers Russell Berry, Gary Sinkinson, Kevin Gibbs and John Berry also offering up some of their extensive knowledge. Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) chief executive Karin Kos and New Zealand Beekeeping Inc president Jane Lorimer both gave their views on the future of the industry, while event sponsor Egmont Honey detailed the honey markets through general manager James Annabell.
Here's some of the key takeaways from a busy three days in Whanganui…
· One will do: Now retired beekeeper Gary Sinkinson advised that, if a mite wash returns even one varroa, beekeepers should now be treating. He likes to use Formic Pro but noted “you need to have a plan for requeening” as some queens won’t survive the treatment.
· Milk & honey: “We have a land of milk and honey here in New Zealand, with pollen coming in year-round. The down side? You have varroa reproducing year-round,” Frank Lindsay explained, and encouraged beekeepers to find those resistance bees and breed from them.
· Hidden vampires: “For every varroa you can see, there will be 100 hidden,” warned Ministry for Primary Industries scientist Richard Hall, who stressed the importance of more intensive mite monitoring than just looking for them on the backs of bees.
· Thieves!: “Some of your best hives are your best robbers, and you are breeding from them,” pointed out Lindsay, who detailed how he conducted a trial by painting worker bees, only to witness them robbing out a nearby hive.
· Getting tougher: The ‘LD50’ (the lethal dose that kills 50% of varroa) of flumethrin (the active compound in Bayvarol) when tested in 2022 was 10 times greater than in 2003, stated Prof. Phil Lester. “Rotating treatments is the essential tool to slow the development of resistance – the evidence is clear,” Lester reinforced and expressed concern at the 9% of beekeepers using only Bayvarol and the 11% using only amitraz treatments, as detailed in the 2023 Colony Loss Survey. “That can be enough to promote resistance out there.” Treatment periods are essential too the professor stressed. “Follow the label and if it says take it out after eight or 10 weeks, then take it out. Otherwise, low doses lead to resistance.”
· Second-hand advice: “We strongly recommend that, if you are buying second-hand equipment, you run a swab over it. There is a lot of AFB infected equipment out there,” said John Mackay of his dnature Diagnostics and Research lab’s Foster Method test. As for testing beehives, Mackay explained the benefit of pooling swab samples to save costs. “Then, even if you don’t want to break down the positive pooled sample for further testing, at least you know which hives to monitor more closely.”
· Help needed: Jane Lorimer explained how the Honey Characterisation Project will seek to better define New Zealand’s honey by analysing nectar from honey bees’ crop (foregut). However, around 1000 volunteers are needed, from all over the country, to catch and bag bees on target flower species. Plus, there is the age-old call for funding support from beekeepers. Lorimer pointed people to www.honeyorigin.co.nz to find out more.
· Unique honeys: “You have a lot of unique honeys here, and you should capitalise on that,” Oliver advised Kiwi beekeepers.
· FTA opening doors: New Zealand’s recently implemented free trade agreement with Europe is helping make our honey more competitively priced in some big markets, explained James Annabell, chief executive of conference sponsor Egmont Honey. A recent deal with supermarket ALDI in Germany saw 90,000 units of low-UMF mānuka sold in two weeks. “If ALDI can do it, I know others can. So, we are seeing some real green shoots from the FTA.”
· Price outlook: “At some point that supply and demand curve will meet again and I think they meet again pretty soon, and that determines price,” Annabell said of the mānuka honey market in New Zealand, pointing to the bush honey price jump in recent years after a backlog was worked through.
· 70 years of wisdom: Few, and maybe none, in Kiwi beekeeping can offer the level of experience of Russell Berry. The Arataki Honey owner addressed the conference in his usual to-the-point manner to impart wisdom. “Control your AFB. Certain countries will not buy AFB honey” … “Treat for varroa. We need to make sure we treat legally, so we can sell our honey” … “White comb is best for honey production, to keep down CFUs (colony forming units)” … “homogenise your batches. Three tonne batches are good.” … “Drums – make sure they are clean and legal!” … Fermenting honey was a big issue last year Berry said, “keep it cool, don’t let it get to 30 degrees” … On pollinating covered orchards, “beware you don’t leave your hives in there too long. You are likely to lose most of your bees in 12 days.” … But he led his sermon with perhaps the most important pearl of wisdom: “The no.1 thing you have to do is marry a beautiful young woman,” paying homage to wife and long-time co-worker Annette Berry.
· Hive shortage: “I believe the kiwifruit industry is going to be very short of hives this season. Last year some of the second drops were a lot weaker than the first,” Berry stated.
· Formic professional: Some older “ineffective” queens, and some “weaker, older bees” will be killed by Formic Pro treatments explained the supplier of the product NOD Apiary Supplies’ Heather Broccard-Bell via video link from Canada. “Not every bee will fall into the optimal range of where it is fatal to the mite and not the bee,” she said, while detailing how their organic treatments can kill both phoretic varroa and those under the brood cap.
· Honey strategy: “We are looking at what model we can present to our membership because, ultimately, our members will have to approve it to move to the next step,” said ApiNZ chief executive Karin Kos on the topic of a new industry body. Planning, in conjunction with the UMF Honey Association is continuing as they look to “flesh out” how mānuka honey might fit into a “Horticulture Export Authority-type arrangement”, with a longer term plan of a specific Honey or Apiculture Act and levy.
· Not so fast: Despite the enthusiasm of Kos for their plan, Lorimer reinforced her scepticism as president of fellow industry body New Zealand Beekeeping Inc. “We can’t wait, we must act now,” she stressed. “We should form a beekeeper organised group, working for beekeepers, by beekeepers.”
· AFB checks and balances: “Clear, coherent and consistent policies are needed as to what is non-compliant behaviour,” Lorimer said in relation to the AFB Pest Management Plan. NZ Beekeeping Inc have engaged legal advice to explore the legality of the use of the Biosecurity Act to swab spore test equipment and order destruction. “It’s an extensive piece of work and we are only part way along,” she explained of the lawyer’s assessment.
· Research Trust: Fiona O’Brien of the host Southern North Island Beekeeping Group explained how they have taken matters into their own hands with regard to funding beekeeping research, having recently set up a Trust to create a “seed pool” of funds. O’Brien said they hope beekeepers and the honey industry will put their hands into their pockets to support the fund, with the potential for different sectors of the industry, such as honey production, queen rearing, or pollination, to have funds earmarked for appropriate research. Watch this space.
· Bee Concerned: New South Wales apiarist Wayne Fuller described the devastation that small hive beetle (SHB) can cause in their hives, putting New Zealand beekeepers on notice should it ever make its way across the Tasman. Stacks of boxes and frames have been burnt by Fuller and his staff after being “slimed out” by SHB. He says he used to fill his shed with 1500 supers before starting an extraction run, but now he has just three days to get them in and get the honey out. And it’s not just the honey and hardware they devastate, with Fuller explaining they must get all requeening with caged queens completed prior to January, otherwise SHB will urinate on the caged queen in the hive and kill her. Yikes.
· Cane toad caper: SHB is far from the only pest the NSW beekeeper is dealing with though, varroa is now on their shores and Queensland’s cane toads are creeping south too. The toads can consume up to 2000 bees a night by standing on each other’s backs in an apiary to access raised hives, and then tap their tongues on the hive’s outer wall until bees march out and are consumed. Yikes!
· A worrying trend: John Berry reported on hive losses he witnessed in autumn in Hawke’s Bay. He is unsure of the reason for the sudden depletion of bees, but hypothesises “its probably nosema, tied up with varroa and viruses .. a whole mixture of things.” However, he explained, “nosema is usually a stress related thing. These hives were not stressed, they were in wonderful condition.” Berry sounded a warning to beekeepers “sooner or later this autumn decline will hit your hives” and the worrying sentiment was echoed by his uncle Russell Berry, “If you have escaped so far, you may not escape much longer.”
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