A Dannevirke woman is urging fellow beekeepers to work together and ensure they are registered to stop the spread of the American Foulbrood Disease (AFB) in hives in the area.
Monique Ashford, a registered hobby beekeeper of five years, was left in tears after she received news on August 26 that one of her three hives was infected with it.
It meant the bees had to be euthanised and the hive burnt, which came at a $750 financial loss for Ashford.
Hawke’s Bay Today reported in November last year that there were three confirmed affected apiaries or bee yards within a 2.5km radius of downtown Dannevirke. At the time, the source was unknown.
New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity southern operations manager Marco Gonzalez said there had been three cases of AFB, including the one reported in the registered hobbyist beekeeper’s hive between December 2024 and September 9, 2025. Three hives had been destroyed as a result.
He said there is a total of 16 registered beekeepers, 29 apiaries, and 325 colonies within the Dannevirke area.
The bacterial disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, which infects the brood of the honey bee, is present in almost all countries where honey bees are found.
Ashford suspected the infection could have come from an abandoned hive or an unregistered beekeeper.
“Most beekeepers are not vindictive ... it’s upsetting, it’s heart-breaking, but at the end of the day, we don’t care who the culprit is, we just want that hive gone.”
Gonzalez said the AFB disease found in August was likely sitting dormant for a few months as stored AFB honey.
“The disease develops when this AFB-contaminated honey is fed to one-to-three-day old larvae. These are the only age at which the bees are susceptible to developing the disease.”
Ashford said she remains on edge with an anxious wait to determine if the other two hives at her small home orchard are infected.
“Though absolutely no fault of my own and having done 150% of what I can to prevent it, I still got it.
“There are lots of rumours going around of how it came to Dannevirke, but there is no point going there, what’s done is done, it’s here now.”
In November 2024, about the same time Ashford had picked up a new hive with new bees, she received a notification there was AFB within 2km of her location.
At the time the bees were inspected and found to be healthy and disease-free.
Last month, it was that same hive, her strongest, that tested positive.
“I was told to keep an eye on them for 18 months, because AFB had been in my area.”
She said it was likely that previously collected AFB-infected honey was consumed by the bees during the winter, when it was not appropriate to check the hives due to weather conditions.
“My bees have gone in and raided this diseased hive, ripped all the honey out of it, brought it back to their own hive, which was infected and have laid it up for winter... hence everything before winter was fine because it was only in the honey.”
She said she didn’t blame anyone for the loss but wanted to encourage others to register and follow correct procedures to limit the spread and related risk of AFB.
“At the moment, we are not safe.”
Gonzalez said he inspected all registered apiaries in the immediate vicinity of the hobbyist beekeeper’s affected apiary, and no more AFB cases were identified.
“The most likely source of this particular infection is a potential unregistered apiary nearby whose hive or hives died with AFB.
“The affected hobbyist beekeeper’s bees robbed this AFB-contaminated honey during the autumn.”
He said registering as a beekeeper is a legal requirement under the American Foulbrood National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) and played a vital role in protecting New Zealand’s beekeeping industry from the spread of the disease.
Costs to register as a beekeeper included a base registration fee of $40 ($46 including GST) and a per colony levy of $1.95 ($2.25 including GST).
“Only when all apiaries are registered can the national strategy of AFB elimination work.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.