North Shore Times : January 15th 2013
www.northshoretimes.co.nz 5 NORTH SHORE TIMES, JANUARY 15, 2013 NEWS in the Auckland Domain Saturday 19th January 10.30-3.30pm Come along & enjoy a day of Scottish Culture, Highland dancing Country Dancing, Ceilidh Dancing Music, Fiddling, Singing, Burns Recitations, Piping, Haggis Ceremony Proudly Sponsored by ASB Community Trust & Fletcher For further information please contact Dave Small 5765985 or Tom Shiels 4836832 5110061AA Nothing to fear from swarms of bees By MARYKE PENMAN Bee kingdom: Birkenhead beekeeper Kim Kneijber looks for the queen in a frame of bees from one of her urban hives. Urban home owners can help the plight of New Zealand honey bees by planting nectar producing trees in your backyard can provide bees with a plentiful food source, she says. Stone and citrus fruit trees, herbs, pohutukawa, dandelion plants and sunflowers are all prime nectar producers. Hive inspection: Auckland Beekeepers Club president Kim Kneijber inspects a frame of bees in one of several hives on her Birkenhead property. Community of bees: A frame of honey bees from one of Kim Kneijber's urban Birkenhead hives. Go to northshore times.co.nz to see more photos from Kim Kneijber's urban Birkenhead beehives. Ahiveislikea bee kingdom. When a bee emerges from her cell I like to say she first cleans her bedroom, then does the housework, becomes a nurse, feeds the baby bees and looks after the queen before eventually being promoted to field bee. -- Kim Kneijber Swarming bees should not be feared, Auckland Beekeepers Club president Kim Kneijber says. Instead city dwellers should consider starting a hive to bolster the nation s dwindling bee population. The start of summer heralds the peak of honeybee activity and a rise in public concern as swarms become more frequent. From November to Febru- ary bee populations swell, forcing them to seek new homes, Ms Kneijber says. They typically swarm between the hours of 10am and 2pm. They often only fly about 800m and settle in a tree or fence post for a day before finding a more perma- nent home. But contrary to common belief, bees are least likely to sting people when they are swarming, she says. People have this great fear of swarms, that they are dangerous and threatening. What s really happening is the bee numbers are increas- ing so quickly that they run out of room in their hives. When this happens the queen leaves with half of the population to find a new place to live. Bees suck up the honey from their old home and take it with them, Ms Kneijber says. They are so big and fat they d find it hard to sting you. But they also don t want to because if they do they ll die. The Auckland Beekeeper Club has a swarm control group made up of experienced beekeepers that will happily collect the nomad bees and re-home them, she says. The Birkenhead woman is among many in New Zealand agricultural, horticultural and beekeeping circles that are encouraging city dwellers to start their own hives. We ve lost the understand- ing that bees are actually a vital part of our community. Bees pollinate up to one- third of the food we eat and without them New Zealand s primary industries would suf- fer, she says. The New Zealand Bee- keepers Association has esti- mated around $5.1 billion of the nation s economy is attributable to honey bee pol- lination and honey products. But the accidental intro- duction of the varroa mite in 2000 has led to a dramatic decline in the honeybee popu- lation. While eradication has proven practically impossible, beekeepers are making head- way in containing varroa mite using hive chemicals. Despite this the Agricult- ural and Fisheries Ministry estimates the varroa mite will cost the economy up to $900 million over the next three decades. People everywhere have noticed they don t have bees coming into their gardens and visiting their fruit trees anymore, Ms Kneijber says. By starting your own hive not only will you benefit from the honey your bees produce, but Ms Kneijber says you can also take pride in the fact you are bolstering the national economy. The Auckland Beekeepers Club has started a buddy sys- tem, pairing new beekeepers with more experienced members, to make the hobby more accessible. New Zealand has strict laws surrounding beekeeping to ensure hives remain dis- ease free. Every hive or apiary must be registered under the Bio- security Act National Pest Management Strategy which allows disease to be monitored and contained. The Primary Industries Ministry and the National Beekeepers Association maintain the register, includ- ing the location and disease status of apiaries. Ms Kneijber says register- ing is a simple process that is helping to sustain bee popu- lations in New Zealand. Beekeeping is hugely rewarding and is not the heavy work that many people perceive it to be, she says. I know beekeepers as young as 14 and as old as 92. I even know a blind bee- keeper. It is something you can adapt to your ability. Even those with allergies can run a hive, she says. I m actually very allergic to bees. It s learning to feel comfortable around them and not getting freaked out. All bees want to do is collect nec- tar and pollen so if you re helping them to do that you shouldn t get stung. According to the National Beekeepers Association city hives are thriving and can produce up to triple the amount of honey as rural hives. Interest in urban beekeep- ing is growing and NBA data shows the number of hives in New Zealand has grown to almost 400,000, producing around 12,000 tonnes of honey each year. The only thing is bees just don t survive in wild hives anymore. They need a bee- keeper to monitor them, Ms Kneijber says. Go to nba.org.nz for more information on starting your own hive or auckbeeclub.org to have a swarm collected.
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