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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, NOVEMBER 2016
FROM THE COLONIES REGIONAL REPORTS
BAY OF PLENTY
We have had a very wet September. Regular feeds are keeping the bees in good condition and when the sun shines a lot of willow is flowering. As I write this at the beginning of October, avocado pollination is starting and gold kiwifruit is only three weeks away. We are concentrating on keeping the hives growing well and controlling swarming, as the first queen cells have appeared. We are hearing reports of varroa and AFB and with the increased number of beekeepers and bees in the area, we will need to be very vigilant. This threatens our industry, so it doesn’t hurt to approach new beekeepers and offer them advice and help them to become aware of these problems.
Hopefully October brings some sunshine.
- Bruce Lowe
WAIKATO
We seem to be stuck in the mud both literally and figuratively. Probably that is the experience of many beekeepers. Certainly it is the situation in the greater Waikato and Coromandel areas, and as I write this there is no end in sight, just cheerful weather people telling us that this “is spring after all”. Perhaps a sign of extraordinary weather is the flowering pattern of certain bee plants. The wattles here are very variable, with some in full flower and others of the same species not yet showing colour. Likewise, I have heard of rewarewa in flower on the Waikato west coast and see that our ‘monitor’ rewarewa has flowers open, yet others are in tight bud. Rangiora has finished here, mingimingi and hangehange are just starting. In spite of the smell of hangehange (think pigsty), it is a significant plant for bees with access to cut-over bush areas and roadsides. Some beekeepers consider its flowering as the signal to stop feeding sugar. The Waikato Hub Apicell groups have met in September at three different locations on three different occasions. The first on a Saturday morning in Turua, then in Rotorua on a Friday night, followed by a Friday night meeting in Ngahinapouri. The theme was springtime and each meeting revolved around the addresses given by conference speakers Gordon Wardell and Mark Goodwin. The topics were very well received and it was a good chance for beekeepers not to have to travel far to a meeting and an opportunity for them to catch up with others. Having said that, the meetings were not well attended and we may yet need to go back to the drawing board to see what more we can do. I am reminded that we only get out of it what we put in, so hope that the November Apicell meetings will attract more attendees. Meantime, fingers crossed for an improving bee and beekeeper-friendly weather pattern coming soon.
HAWKE’S BAY
We had a warm, dry winter and are paying for it now. Pollination is later than normal and even in the warmer areas, bees are working for only a few hours a week due to low temperatures and incessant rain. Stonefruit growers may be in for a real hiding. Hives generally are holding up fairly well, but pollen shortage is getting severe in some of the higher colder country. Some beekeepers are learning that it is not always a good idea to try raising spring queens in Hawke’s Bay. High-country farmers are starting to lose lambs that are several weeks old. Hives are needing more feeding than normal and it is becoming increasingly difficult to access sites, but then there are areas of the country that are worse than us. On the bright side, bad springs are normally followed by good honey crops.
- Pauline Bassett, Life Member
- John Berry, Hub President
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