Honey's dirty war? 300 bee hives 'poisoned'

Beekeeper David Yanke with some "nukes" - colonies for breeding queen bees - similar to those he believes were poisoned during Easter. Photo / John Stone

Up to 300 bee hives are thought to have been poisoned in the Far North as soaring numbers of beekeepers chasing "liquid gold" - manuka honey - ratchet up tensions in the industry.

Owner David Yanke is convinced deliberate poisoning caused the death of millions of bees but is waiting for test results from the Ministry of Primary Industries for confirmation.

Mr Yanke said he discovered hundreds of hives half full of dead bees during Easter. The surviving bees were "boiling out of the hives" and falling to the ground, unable to fly.

The suspected poisoning occurred during Easter in Paranui Valley, inland from Taipa in Doubtless Bay, where Mr Yanke has been breeding queen bees for the past 30 years. He runs Daykel Apiaries with his partner Rachel Kearney.

He alerted the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) immediately, in case the deaths were caused by a new pest, but the scale and suddenness - and the way the affected hives radiated from a central point - meant poisoning was the only plausible explanation.

Mr Yanke had yet to hear back about the test results. Police had been notified but could not act until lab tests confirmed poison was involved.

He had about 1000 nukes - hives specifically for breeding queens - in the valley, about 300 of which had been wiped out or badly affected.

The poisoning, if proven, was symptomatic of the "craziness sweeping the industry" with large numbers of people taking up beekeeping with no experience or real interest in bees, but driven by greed and overstated reports of the prices paid for manuka honey.

Large companies were moving in, squeezing out small-scale beekeepers, and some areas had so many hives there was not enough food for the bees.

"All this could kill the golden goose,' Mr Janke said.

The upside of the suspected poisoning was the almost overwhelming support he had been shown by fellow beekeepers. Mr Yanke said his business would bounce back.

An MPI spokesman said apiarists often contacted the Ministry if they experienced unexplained deaths or declines in their hives. MPI tested for exotic pests and diseases; if that was ruled out, and toxicity was a possible cause, the incident was referred to the Environmental Protection Authority.

MPI knew of three cases of hive poisoning in New Zealand in 2015. One in Christchurch in December was deemed accidental but another case, causing "significant deaths" in Northland hives in April, was thought to be caused by deliberate poisoning.

"Manuka fever" and competition for hive sites were also thought to be behind an arson attack on beehives at Ohaeawai last September. A note was left next to the burning hives but police would not say what was written on it.

Also last year a large number of hives, thought to belong to one of the big honey companies, was found dumped on West Coast Rd in North Hokianga.

Beehive thefts have become such a problem that Kawakawa police devised a plan last year specifically aimed at catching offenders as they transport stolen hives around Northland by night.