Physical Factors
Climate
Winter saw a lot of extreme events including snow, wind and rain. There were heavy snowfalls in Mid Canterbury and inland Otago, a "weather-bomb" that flooded many parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato and the Coromandel Peninsula, and heavy late frosts, hail and snow in many inland parts of the South Island. Gale force winds were a feature of the winter weather in many places. Well-fed hives survived these conditions and most came through the winter in good shape.
El Nino conditions dominated from May until December with south-west winds over most of New Zealand. Beekeepers who reared queens in September to early October had good results, but queen matings in October and early November were disastrous. In general the season was "late" for both colony development as well as some flowering crops like kiwifruit. This was provident as most beehives would not have been up to pollination strength by the time of the main bloom if flowering was normal.
December was warmer than usual and this saw an early beginning to the main nectar flows, especially manuka. Hot, dry conditions in many areas in January and cold snaps in others saw an early end to the nectar flow, but the flow had been so intense that all districts had an above average crop.
Honey Production
All regions experienced an above average crop in stark contrast to the disastrous one the previous year. The crop was calculated at 12,252 tonnes, up from 4,682 tonnes in 2001/02, which made it one of the highest crops on record (Table 1). The 6-year average is 8,806 tonnes.
Northland-Auckland-Hauraki Plains
This area produced a very good crop of 1,066 tonnes or 41 kg/hive (6-year average 857 tonnes). In Northland the manuka yielded well in some areas and not so well in others, and is showing only moderate antibacterial activity to date while bush sources gave a mediocre yield. Beekeepers can get enhanced prices for active manuka honey, i.e., honey with a high non-peroxide antibacterial activity. Beekeepers using two-queen colony management reported excellent crops of 60-90 kg/hive.
Waikato-King Country-Taupo
The Waikato did well except for some localised areas. There were reports of crops exceeding 65 kg/hive and other reports of under 30 kg/hive. The range was 35-55 kg/hive (average 49 kg/hive), with a total crop of 2,210 tonnes and a 6-year average of 1,341 tonnes. Pasture species yielded well for the first time in many years although intensive dairy farming areas were not as productive due to their modern farming techniques.
Bay of Plenty-Coromandel-Poverty Bay
This area reported a crop of 2,064 tonnes (6-year average 1,265 tonnes) or 42 kg/hive. Manuka flows were exceptional although the antibacterial activity was low in many cases. The tawari yield was low and other bush and pasture yields were average, but higher production was achieved by migratory beekeeping and some hives were able to work three flows. Poverty Bay had an excellent crop of 35-57 kg/hive.
Hawke's Bay-Taranaki-Manawatu-Wairarapa
The southern North Island produced an average to above average crop of 1,607 tonnes (6-year average 1,344 tonnes) or 37 kg/hive. Good crops of manuka, pasture and pohutukawa were produced although drought conditions from mid-January saw an early end to the season. Some beekeepers are concerned about the reduction of willow and gorse pollen sources due to disease and spraying regimes.
Marlborough-Nelson-Westland
Despite a late cold and wet spring, this region produced good crops of kamahi, manuka and clover for an overall crop of 1,350 tonnes (6-year average 722 tonnes) or 49 kg/hive. There was little rata honey produced on the West Coast due to wet conditions, and blue borage in Marlborough due to drought.
Canterbury-North Otago
The season was late and the wet spring meant extra late feeding for bees. Heavy flowering of clover initially yielded intensely before being curtailed by a cold snap. Both manuka and honeydew (produced from the beech forests) produced well to give a regional crop of 2,400 tonnes (6-year average 1,899 tonnes) or 40 kg/hive. Wasp numbers seemed to be a lot higher this year. Wasps can predate heavily on beehives taking honey, bees and larvae.
South Otago-Central Otago-Southland
The season can best be described as patchy. The spring was one of the worst on record, with cold and wet weather affecting queen mating and the build up of hives for the honey flow, which resulted in a lot of sugar being fed. Production in Central and North Otago was low while coastal Otago and Southland fared better. Bush honeys made up a significant proportion of this year's honey crop as a two-week cold snap began in mid-January and combined with a drought to stop the clover flow. The crop was estimated at 1,555 tonnes (6-year average 1,380 tonnes) or 32.4 kg/hive with a range of 15-51 kg/hive.
Pollination
The season was late for both bee colony development and flowering. Most fruit crops experienced reasonably good pollination despite the indifferent weather in October and November. Colonies struggled to build up through October and a huge amount of sugar feeding was required in all regions.
Pollination fees increased slightly in the Bay of Plenty from an average of around $115/hive to over $120/hive, with a top price of $138/hive being reported. The increased fee helped offset cost increases for diesel, sugar and varroa treatments.
Heavy winter hive losses were experienced by some beekeepers who delayed treating for varroa, or who could not get access to hives because of wet conditions, and this affected the number of colonies available for pollination. There was a strong demand to buy or rent hives from new suppliers to meet both an increase in demand from growers as well as to replace losses. An estimated 2,000 hives were imported from the South Island for pollination services. Some kiwifruit growers increased their per hectare hive stocking rate, and maturing areas of the ZESPRITM GOLD variety also created an increased demand for pollinating hives.
Live Bee Movements and Exports
Bee exporters had a good season in sales of package bees to Canada and Germany. Demand for package bees to stock hives in Canada was particularly strong, reflecting the world shortage of honey. For the year ended December 2002, 10,780 queen bees and 18,028 x 1 kg packages of bees were exported (refer to Bulk Bees below).
Export certificates were also issued for 33 kg of queen bumble bees. These are used in Europe and Japan to start founder colonies of bumble bees which are placed in greenhouses to pollinate crops, especially tomatoes. One exporter also shipped 220 kg of wasp larvae to Japan. These are used for human consumption or as bait for fishing.
Table 1: New Zealand Honey Crop (tonnes)
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
6-year Average | |
Northland, Auckland, Hauraki Plains |
1 014 |
615 |
982 |
869 |
593 |
1 066 |
857 |
Waikato, King Country, Taupo |
1 404 |
1 617 |
1 434 |
672 |
708 |
2 210 |
1 341 |
Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Poverty Bay |
1 314 |
1 800 |
1 300 |
794 |
319 |
2 064 |
1 265 |
Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu, Wairarapa |
1 230 |
1 416 |
1 323 |
1 735 |
750 |
1 607 |
1 344 |
Marlborough, Nelson, Westland |
598 |
770 |
705 |
606 |
300 |
1 350 |
722 |
Canterbury, North Otago |
1 238 |
1 782 |
2 310 |
2 743 |
921 |
2 400 |
1 899 |
South and Central Otago, Southland |
1 283 |
1 069 |
1 555 |
1 725 |
1 091 |
1 555 |
1 380 |
New Zealand |
8 081 |
9 069 |
9 609 |
9 144 |
4 682 |
12 252 |
8 806 |
Yield/Hive (kg) |
27.0 |
29.9 |
30.0 |
29.4 |
15.0 |
40.8 |
28.6 |
Source: AgriQuality New Zealand
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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