New hobby beekeepers encouraged: varroa challenge continues
Kerry Gentleman and Fraser Wilson check a couple of their 450 hives. Photo: Gerard Hindmarsh.
Ward-Holmes Road apiarists Frazer Wilson and Kerry Gentleman are keen to promote increased knowledge amongst hobbyist beekeepers setting up in the region.
That’s one of the messages they’ll be endorsing as part of the organising committee for the annual conference of the National Beekeepers Association, to be held over three days at the Rutherford Hotel in Nelson at the end of this month.
Frazer said there has been a huge national upsurge of hobbyist beekeeping, mainly as a response to the decline in bee numbers, which has affected pollination in home gardens and orchards. Over 500 new beekeepers registered this last year alone throughout the country, with possibly as many again unregistered.
“That’s why we are devoting the entire first day of the conference to ‘The Art of Beekeeping’ – which will be a forum for new or small beekeepers.” Topics will include getting started, maintaining your beehive, learning easy varroa management techniques, the methodology of beekeeping, apitherapy practices, and obtaining your DECA (Disease Elimination Conformity Agreement).
All beekeepers are supposed to be registered and have their hives inspected annually by someone who has passed this test.
International guest speaker Kirsten Traynor will share her experiences of living with varroa in the United States, while Yukiyasi Uda, originally from Japan and now residing in Nelson, will talk on his practice of administering bee stings for medicinal therapy.
Maureen Maxwell, founder of boutique honey promoter Beesonline and a qualified chef, will demonstrate easy ways to make honey skin care products and soap. She describes herself as the Kiwi woman who has made honey sexy, changing the perception of it from a “Nana product” into liquid gold and knocking the socks off overseas buyers with her lines of mono-floral honey. Every week, more and more culinary tourists flock to her factory and café near Kumeu, 30 minutes northwest of Auckland.
Kerry Gentleman said the conference was responding to the incredible upsurge in interest in small-scale bee-keeping.
“We are encouraging people who don’t want to come to the whole conference to attend just the first day when the provided lunch at the Prince Albert will all be honey-themed.
“It’ll all provide the perfect opportunity for anyone new to the game to embrace new concepts and meet like-minded people.”
The varroa mite has been in Golden Bay for around two-and-a-half years now. Honey production has been affected, but continues. There are five commercial apiarists in the Bay—Beehaven, Heaphy Honey, Peter Beere, Zellerbees and Golden Bees—who have around 1500 hives between them. Another five outfits from over the hill regularly transport a similar number of hives back and forth every year for specific flowering or pollination service periods.
Frazer and Kerry run Beehaven and own 450 hives, which they distribute from Uruwhenua to Wharariki and up to Bainham. This year, 95 per cent of their extracted honey was exported to Britain. Despite a good manuka flowering season this year, production has been a battle to maintain because of varroa. Frazer said people were definitely beginning to notice a lack of bees in some areas of the Bay.
“This year already we have fielded quite a few calls from concerned small-scale orchard owners asking if we’d like to put a hive under their trees. There’s definitely an opening for pollination services in the Bay. Varroa has killed off virtually all the wild bees in the Bay, and without treatment, many of the commercial hives will die too.
“The latest research has shown perhaps only two per cent of bees will develop some immunity. The effects do level off, though. For instance hives in the Wainui and Awaroa areas are being hit hardest this year because they were the last to get it. It’s a pretty serious situation. Golden Bay needs to have ongoing pollination happening if we want to keep producing food here, it’s as simple as that. Maybe the rise in hobby beekeepers will be able to help us out.”
To attend “The Art of Beekeeping” (Sunday 27 June 9.15am-4.30pm) or find out more about the entire three-day national beekeepers’ seminar and conference in Nelson, contact Kerry Gentleman: email frazer.kerry@clear.net.nz.
Gerard Hindmarsh
