Honeymoon threatened

The buzz among Auckland's hobby beekeepers is that they are about to be stung in the pocket. Christabel Earl finds out more.
Marcello Gardi loves his new hives. Less than a year into his new hobby of beekeeping, the landscape gardener and father-of-two is almost evangelical about the honey-making insects.
"It's crazy,'' he enthuses. "I just fell in love with it.''
The president of the Auckland Beekeepers Club, Kim Kneijber, says up to 10 new members a month are joining.
"I have 20 hives myself, and am extremely passionate about the benefits of beekeeping as a hobby,'' says Mrs Kneijber, who keeps a couple of hives in her home garden and the rest with friends and neighbours. Her bees flit in and out of traditional, white-painted hives, extracting nectar from flowers, bottlebrush shrubs and cabbage trees in flower.
However, the National Beekeepers Association has sounded the siren on this idyll. Beekeepers fear they will pay dearly for the resurgence of the destructive varroa mite, with a shortage of honey bees and community education funding cuts.
These threats have surfaced at a time when interest in urban beekeeping is soaring. The association reported two weeks ago that bees tested in a hive near Auckland showed signs of resistance to [redacted] a synthetic pyrethroid treatment against the varroa mite.
According to the beekeepers' association, overseas' evidence suggests that this resistance will spread and New Zealand honey bees will die.
"Hobbyists will be affected by the varroa mites' resistance to Apistan and will have to change their beekeeping practices,'' says Mrs Kneijber. "We used Apistan as a kind of wonder drug against varroa and it just made treating bees so easy. It was 99 per cent effective. But bad beekeeping practices have allowed the varroa to build up resistance. Some beekeepers have not changed their Apistan treatment strips often enough, giving the mites the opportunity to mutate rather than killing them.
"When the mutated mites spread we will have to use other treatments against them. These are quite good but, on average, are only 60-70 per cent effective and more expensive.
"We must now be extremely vigilant about testing our hives which will involve more time. Because of this, I will have to halve the number of my own hives.''
Mrs Kneijber says the extra time and expense may encourage more urban dwellers to rent hives for their gardens rather than buying them.
"They would have the pleasure of bees in their gardens, but with the hive owners taking
responsibility for maintaining them,'' she says.
A related problem is a general shortage of honey bees in New Zealand resulting from the wide variety of diseases and disorders that affect them.
"New members of our club even now wait more than a month to get a nuc - a starter hive - from a reputable breeder,'' says Mrs Kneijber. "The resistance to Apistan can only make matters worse.
"It costs $90 to $120 for a nuc which contains four frames from an existing hive and a queen.''
Obtaining a healthy nuc, short for nucleus, could now become more expensive.
"Rustlers are reportedly stealing hives from commercial beekeepers in New Zealand,'' says Mrs Kneijber. "This is happening because of the expense and shortage of bees.''
The flow of honey may also  dwindle because of increased community education fees.
The Auckland Beekeeper's Club started a beekeeping class at Northcote College this term because of growing interest Auckland wide, says Mrs Kneijber.
"There is a real need for these classes, but we may not continue next year if the fees are too high.''
None of this has dampened Mrs Kneijber's own enormous enthusiasm for beekeeping.
"It would take a serious reaction to a sting or damaging my back carrying hives to make me give up.''
Addenda
Gemma Collier, joint chief executive of the National Beekeepers' Association, wishes to
clarify the current position of the association.
"At no stage has the National Beekeepers' Association of New Zealand stated varroa
mites are showing signs of resistance to any specific synthetic pyrethroid treatment.
There are two products on the market Apistan and Bayvoral.
"While there have been anecdotal reports of resistance to synthetic treatments there is no confirmed scientific evidence of actual resistance to either product.''
Ms Collier says tests are planned to confirm or deny resistance of varroa to synthetic pyrethroid treatments.
"However, Dr Mark Goodwin of Plant and Food Research has not yet been able to source any additional 'suspected resistant' mites to test.  Once 'suspected resistant' mites have been sourced testing will begin.''
For more info and updates on the issue, go to: www.nba.org.nz