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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, NOVEMBER 2016
CHRISTCHURCH
In Christchurch, the spring flow is under way with dandelions in the lawns, fruit trees flowering, the willows along the Avon in nearly full leaf and the kōwhai in flower.
SOUTH CANTERBURY
During the last two weeks of September and the first week of October we have had dull, cloudy weather with some moisture. I have noticed an increase in grass growth in last week or two. We’ve had sunny afternoons on some days, with just enough warmth in the ground for some spring growth. There is a great flowing of prunus, kōwhai, cherry and weeping willow and other trees; the crack willows have been a bit slower this year. Hives have emerged from the winter well and are quite strong, even some that haven’t had a sugar feed. I am still treating for varroa in early October and whilst varroa is quite evident in some hives, it is not yet in many others. There’s plenty of pollen coming in now, mainly yellow from the willow. Early October dandelions have suddenly appeared, promising a further nectar flow for spring build up. Local papers have published various articles related to Bee Aware Month dealing with different aspects of beekeeping: educating the general public, planting bee-friendly plants and not feeding honey and water to bees, etc. It has probably been the best national Bee Aware Month presentation yet. An ApiNZ Hub meeting was held on Tuesday, 19 September at the Federated Farmers office in Christchurch. Spring is here and with it we are finding all sorts of wonderful new challenges to conquer as we move through the apiaries attending to the multitude of spring tasks. As a commercial beekeeper on the West Coast, it was lovely to enjoy mild winter conditions for a well-earned break. The queen bees, however, predominantly continued brooding throughout winter, and as a consequence we are seeing a slight increase in the population of mites residing in our hives than we would prefer. Queen raising was unfortunately delayed by two weeks due to the late frosts, which hindered drone production. However, there is no shortage of them now so it’s full steam ahead, and just in time too, as we are already starting to find fed swarm cells appearing in some of the stronger hives. Hopefully the unsettled weather we are experiencing doesn’t result in another year of poor matings on the coast. You may see some pollen bees sporting violet socks now that the fuchsia is coming into bloom. Kōwhai is also in flower, which is seeing small quantities of nectar coming in. Unfortunately the fickle weather is restricting the flow, so additional feeding is still hot on the agenda to prevent starvation, particularly in the stronger hives. With spring well under way it is exciting to wonder what other surprises the bees have in store for us this season ... there is talk of a lovely hot summer ahead! - Noel Trezise WEST COAST
The nor’westers have just started along with some colder days as well.
Swarming has also started, probably due to the mild and dry winter leaving the hives with plenty of stores and not much room. Varroa seems to be not too much of an issue, as most beekeepers seem to have treated at the right time and have had some success getting it under control. I haven’t heard of problems with resistance to date. A beginner beekeeper course run by the Christchurch Hobbyist Beekeepers’ Club was held recently for ‘newbees’. They assembled woodware and were taught other basic things all newcomers need to know about managing their hives. Of course they all want to know where to get bees. Nucs are hard to come by as queen rearing has been affected by bad weather at the critical time. The Club has in excess of 200 members, with about 70 turning up each field day. We have had to split the day into two sections: newbees in the morning and more experienced members in the afternoon. At the last field day, a member bought a frame infected with AFB for a second opinion. A tongue was found, leaving no doubt. The frame was also tested with an out-of-date test kit that gave no result, showing that they are indeed date-sensitive. The awareness in the general public about the plight of bees is very high. As soon as I mention I keep bees, everyone wants a hive in their backyard.
The season is shaping up to be pretty good so far.
- Lindsay Moir
- Carla Glass
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