John Wells from Havelock North with his beehive, donated by the Taranaki Beekeepers Club. Photo / Paul Taylor
John Wells from Havelock North with his beehive, donated by the Taranaki Beekeepers Club. Photo / Paul Taylor
Under the cover of darkness they moved slowly into Hawke’s Bay, trying to avoid a sting, one million lives in their hands if it went wrong.
This was what the region’s beekeepers had been desperate for, a huge donation of bees to replenish the region’s stocks after Cyclone Gabrielle wipedout so many hives in February.
But to replenish the Beekeepers Hawke’s Bay Club bee numbers by bringing in one million bees was a mission full of logistics.
Thirty-eight hives of bees were generously donated by the Taranaki Beekeepers Club and the Ōtaki Buzz Club and brought into a central location before being distributed out to hobby beekeepers from Dannevirke, Hawke’s Bay, and Gisborne.
President of the Beekeepers Hawke’s Bay Club, Central Hawke’s Bay woman Robyn Gichard, said the transportation of the bees took place at night to ensure that all the scout bees had come home to the hives and none were left behind.
The cyclone caused many of the hives to flood, ruining them and causing chaos in the bee community. “Wild bees” had then invaded the club’s hives in search of food, Gichard said.
“They have donated hives and equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars,” she said of the generosity.
The transportation took on many forms and even had Gichard stacking nine nucleus hives, which are smaller hives with younger bees, in the back of her car.
The club also had help from Francis Proffit, who transported the bees on his ute and trailer in a five-hour journey from Taranaki.
Each hive came with 30,000 bees at different stages, bringing in an important injection of Taranaki and Ōtaki genetics into the Hawke’s Bay gene pool.
“I’ve just been overwhelmed and amazed at the effort these people have put in personally for the bees so that we can carry on,” Gichard said.
Beekeepers Hawke’s Bay Club President Robyn Gichard unloads donated beehives with Taranaki Beekeepers Club member Francis Proffit.
As a whole, she said the operation went smoothly and they only had one incident of angry bees at the drop-off in Waipukarau.
Hobby beekeeper John Wells, who had just started his bee journey in his retirement, was a recipient of one of the donated hives.
Wells lost a significant proportion of land around his hives at the back of his house in Havelock North and was fearful for the safety of his hive during the cyclone.
“I was concerned initially about my bees, but they survived, they are very resilient,” he said.
Wells said the bees so far have settled in well and will begin to expand as they get established in their new environment.
“I took the top off yesterday, and I didn’t want to mix them up too much because they are not in Taranaki anymore,” he said.
Gichard said that honey production of the transported bees should not be affected, “as long as the queen is happy”.
She said her and her fellow beekeepers are feeling positive as the current weather has provided great conditions for the bees and honey production this season.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
