New Zealand Beekeeper - March 2017

New Zealand Beekeeper - March 2017

Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by fires and poor weather in general!

MARCH 2017 | VOLUME 25 No. 2

Building a strong future Bruce Wills and Karin Kos Honey labelling Frank Lindsay

Ingenuity from the Chathams Mana Cracknell and Michele Andersen Manuka mysteries Linda Newstrom-Lloyd

Dealing with a difficult season Frank Lindsay

HONEY is our HERITAGE

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www.comvita.co.nz/supply @comvita_newzealand

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Building a strong future with Apiculture New Zealand

Important message: Levy invoices

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Manuka mysteries: the biology of a flower

Honey labelling: what’s in a name?

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UMFHA targets UK with campaign

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Apiculture health and safety programme formed

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It rains, it flowers, we smile and bees shine Reciprocal visit of Tamara Mitchell to the UK

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From the colonies

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Dealing with a difficult season and preparing for winter

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Photo essay: night run to the ‘Naki

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Front cover: The last of manuka in the Wellington region. The bees were all over it. Photo: Frank Lindsay.

EDITORIAL/PUBLICATION (excluding advertising): Nancy Fithian 8A Awa Road, Miramar, Wellington 6022 Mobile: 027 238 2915 Fax: 04 380 7197 Email: [email protected] ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: Certa Solutions, PO Box 2494, Dunedin 9044. Phone: 0800 404 515 Email: [email protected] PUBLICATIONS FOCUS GROUP: Frank Lindsay 26 Cunliffe Street, Johnsonville, Email: [email protected] DEADLINES FOR ADVERTISING AND ARTICLES: Due on the 6th of the month prior to publication. All articles/letters/photos to be with the Editor via fax, email or post to Nancy Fithian (see details above). Articles published in The New Zealand BeeKeeper are subject to scrutiny by the Apiculture New Zealand Management Team. The content of articles does not Wellington 6037 Ph: 04 478 3367

The New Zealand BeeKeeper is the official journal of Apiculture New Zealand (Inc.). ISSN 0110-6325 Printed by Certa Solutions, PO Box 2494, Dunedin 9013, New Zealand ApiNZ website: www.apinz.org.nz

necessarily reflect the views of Apiculture New Zealand. © The New Zealand BeeKeeper is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the Publisher, Apiculture New Zealand (Inc.). CONTACTS TO THE NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY: Rex Baynes, AFB PMP Manager PO Box 44282, Lower Hutt 5040 Email: [email protected] Ph: 04 566 0773 American Foulbrood Management Plan www.afb.org.nz

MANAGEMENT TEAM: Chief Executive Officer Karin Kos Email: [email protected] Secretary Natasha Thyne Email: [email protected] Accounts and Subscriptions Pauline Downie Email: [email protected] PO Box 25207, Featherston Street,

AsureQuality Limited Phone: 0508 00 11 22 www.asurequality.com EXOTIC DISEASE AND PEST EMERGENCY HOTLINE 0800 80 99 66 www.biosecurity.govt.nz

Wellington 6146 Ph: 04 471 6254 APICULTURE NZ BOARD REPRESENTATIVES: Dennis Crowley

Barry Foster Stuart Fraser Sean Goodwin John Hartnell Ricki Leahy

Pollinator Incident Reporting Form: http://www.epa.govt.nz/Publications/ Pollinator_incident_reporting_form_2014. docx

Peter Luxton Russell Marsh Paul Martin Bruce Wills (Chair)

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BUILDING A STRONG FUTURE WITH APICULTURE NEW ZEALAND CHAIRMAN’S/CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT Bruce Wills, Chairman and Karin Kos, Chief Executive Next month marks the start of Apiculture New Zealand’s second year of operation. Our inaugural year was focused on establishing Apiculture New Zealand, and we can be pleased with the progress that has been made in consolidating our association as the industry’s peak body.

Membership renewals Now is the time to renew your membership for the upcoming financial year. Please see the renewal form inserted in the journal. We are keeping membership rates the same as last year. We are really excited about the future for this industry. There is no question that the mānuka honey issue and a very poor honey crop present short-term challenges, but the long- term fundamentals remain extremely sound. Code of Conduct Last month we released the Apiculture New Zealand Code of Conduct (http://apinz.org. nz/about/). This is an important document for industry and sets the standards for how our industry operates in a responsible and sustainable way. While it’s a voluntary code, it sends a clear signal that Apiculture New Zealand members are professional and responsible operators, supporting the following four key objectives:

As well as providing tangible value-add services like the Land Use Agreements and the Health and Safety programmes, and of course the excellent annual conference, we’ve also established a strong executive team to champion the issues faced by our industry. We have a Code of Conduct in place, and are close to completing the reinvigoration of our Focus Groups. We continue to work closely with the Ministry for Primary Industries and others to ensure the best possible environment for our bee and honey industry to thrive and prosper. We appreciate this season has been a tough one for many of you. This makes it even more critical for Apiculture New Zealand to retain a growing membership base, not only to present a strong and united front in working through these challenges, but to make the most of the opportunities ahead.

• the sustainability of the bees and the environment that supports them

• public safety and social amenity

• good beekeeping practice in line with proven and ethical standards in working with bees and any activity associated with apiculture • the maintenance of good relations among all stakeholders. We see the Code of Conduct as living document, one that will need to be updated as our industry continues to grow and change. For that reason, the Code will be reviewed annually, to ensure it has ongoing relevance over the long term. As we head into a new financial year for Apiculture New Zealand, we look forward to working with you, and continuing to grow Apiculture New Zealand into an organisation that provides real value for your business.

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‘John looking for the queen’. This photo, taken by Life Member Frank Lindsay, won second prize in the Portrait’ print class in the Ecrotek National Photographic Competition for 2016. This competition is part of the Apiculture New Zealand National Conference and will be contested again in 2017.

At right: Frank’s photo was also awarded first place in the portrait section at Eastern Apicultural Society of North America Inc. and was judged Best in Show. Frank is shown here receiving his trophy. Photo supplied by Karen Eisen. Regular digital photos are only 72 dpi, so are not suitable for the front cover. Please provide a caption and the name of the photographer so we can credit them. Email photos and captions to [email protected] WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS! The Publications Committee welcomes photos for the journal. Pop a camera in the truck and snap away when you find something interesting. The safest way to supply a digital file is in a high-quality jpeg format. If you’re thinking big (such as a potential front cover photo), these need to be as large as possible (300 dots per square inch (dpi) at the size they are to be used, in portrait format (vertical rather than horizontal).

E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR JOURNAL EDITOR

It’s been brought to my attention that e-mails sent to me at [email protected] were being rejected by ApiNZ’s website postmaster. All technical issues have been resolved. Apologies for any inconvenience. Nancy Fithian Editor, The New Zealand BeeKeeper

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Frank Lindsay, Life Member HONEY LABELLING: WHAT’S IN A NAME? BUSINESS

A month or so ago I had the pleasure of tasting a variety of different honeys packed by numerous beekeepers from around the country. I have been tasting honey for many years and you get to learn the tastes of your own regional varieties.

I do not extract several times through the season; rather, I mark supers so I have an idea of when they were put on the hive and, hopefully, what sort of honey I expect the bees to have produced. Sometimes the bees in one hive completely surprise you. They find and work a variety that other hives in the apiary seem to miss. You can see it in the different colours and by tasting the odd honey frame as it is being uncapped. Sometimes I’ll separate off a strong honey from a delicately flavoured one. Of course, commercial producers don’t do this as it’s time consuming; also their honeys will be blended anyway by the packer after they have sold it, so it’s not as important. The Codex Alimentarius To give honey a varietal (monofloral) name, all that is necessary is to have 50% or more of a particular honey. The rules for labelling honey are set out in the Codex Alimentarius, an internationally recognised document. It can be downloaded as a PDF; it’s interesting reading: http://www.fao.org/input/download/ standards/310/cxs_012e.pdf The document states that honey can be sold at less than 20% moisture; however, to export, it must be under 18.5% moisture. Thixotropic honeys like mānuka and ling heather have to be under 23% but at this moisture content, it’s on the point of fermenting if not handled correctly. If wet supers from the previous year were put on during a honey flow and were not completely cleaned out by the bees, the old honey can start a slow chain reaction. Over time, this process will ferment all the honey in that batch. Distinctive scents and flavours Honey is delicate. Like butter, honey absorbs any taints or flavours it comes into contact with, and can be affected by the length of time it’s left exposed to air and its

Honey competition entries at the British National Honey Show, 2009. Photo supplied by Maureen (Maxwell) Conquer.

Eucalyptus honey varies from mild to strong. When I first visited Australia, I didn’t like their honeys but over time I learnt to appreciate the different varieties and now like them. We don’t get the strong varieties here in New Zealand, and to my knowledge we don’t have huge areas of eucalyptus trees in the North Island, so any honey from these trees tends to blend in with other honeys. Whanganui streets are lined with eucalyptus, so hobbyists will get it in their honey late in the season. Some honeys have unique flavours but these can disappear very quickly soon after extraction. I once extracted a couple of boxes of Eucalyptus nicholii (‘peppermint gum’), which literally caused a peppermint explosion in the mouth. I put some aside and when another beekeeper visited, I got out the samples and we did a tasting. I expected the same result but only a few months later, that beautiful flavour was gone and there was just the butterscotch flavour of eucalyptus. What a disappointment.

surroundings. Therefore, it’s important that it’s packed into new containers, even when you are giving it away. After a while the honey will take on the taint from the lid of a pickle jar if you pack it in a used one. The taste profile also depends on where the honey was produced and the type of water the bees collect. When you first open a jar, quickly smell the scent of the honey. I say quickly because after a few seconds, this scent disappears. You can tell the difference between honey produced in a lemon orchard and one produced on a dairy farm. Sometimes bees collect urine for the salts and minerals and you can detect it in the first sniff; however, you can’t discern this in the honey. Some of the early bush varieties still fool me but one can develop a taste for most of our main varieties. I can also pick what variety of honey is going through the plant most of the time; e.g., that distinct cat’s pee smell when you are extracting kāmahi. Fortunately, the smell does not transfer into the honey.

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NZ HONEY SENSORY PROFILES MONOFLORAL VARIETIES AII descriptions based on liquid, except where stated as “Creamed”

VARIETY

APPEARANCE

AROMA

FLAVOUR

CLOVER

Light pale gold

Herbal dry grass, hints of plums

Clean mild, sweet traditional honey flavour Slightly bitter, hints of liquorice and treacle toffees.

ERICA

Deep red amber

Complex, toasty, hint of turpentine

HONEYDEW

Medium-dark amber

Musky citrus Mineral

Complex, treacly, “Christmas Cake”

KAMAHI

Pale lemon yellow

lntense, musky, almost lactic. Quite complex

Very clean, rich and sweet, balanced buttery finish

MANUKA

Dark cream to dark brown

Catmint, damp earth, heather, aromatic Mineral, slightly bitter barley sugar, herbaceous

NODDING THISTLE

Pale lemon gold

Citrus orange peel/orange blossom, intense Musky, damp leaves, salty (almost seaweed) but pleasant

Intense floral flavour, sweet barley sugar

POHUTAKAWA (Creamed)

Off white

Clean earthy sweet butterscotch

RATA (Creamed)

Pale cream

Heady, lime blossom, musk: papaya

Very sweet, Iime flavours

REWAREWA

Light amber with orange hints

Intense, herbaceous, geranium/ dandelion Rich perfumed musk/incense/ sandalwood/orange peel/ liquorice

Clean sweet smoky herbaceous complex

TAWARI

Deep orange gold

Clean musty rosehip syrup, very sweet golden syrup

THYME

Very pale amber

Very aromatic, tarry, “dusty”

Resinous, aromatic herbal, very strong

VIPER BUGLOSS (often described as Blue Borage)

Yellow gold

Dusty, rose oil character

Clean tasting, lemon & floral characters

HONEY AROMA CAN BE FLEETING ONCE CONTAINER OPENED. REGIONAL VARIATIONS MAY RESULT IN DIFFERENCES FROMTHE ABOVE GENERIC DESCRIPTIONS.

Know your honeys before you label them So back to the honey tasting I recently attended. A good percentage were not true to label. Mānuka is thixotropic so sets like a jelly. If you turn a jar upside down, it shouldn’t move. If it does, it isn’t mānuka. I was a little shocked, as one honey was produced by a larger-scale beekeeper. Just because your bees were close to a certain species doesn’t mean the bees brought in that honey. Get to know the tastes of different honeys. Some can be sampled at the National Honey Show at the Apiculture New Zealand National Conference. Buy some small pots and use these as a reference so you have something to compare against.

I have included Bill Floyd’s sensory profiles chart for your information, part of a pamphlet published by the New Zealand Honey Food and Ingredient Advisory Service (1997). The NBA contracted Bill to produce this pamphlet. Bill Floyd was our marketing guru back in the 1990s, when the NBA had marketing money from the levy. Bill was responsible for putting the marketing of mānuka and other varietal honeys on a firm foundation. He took honey to restaurants, catering schools and organised cooking competitions between different polytechnics. If you want to name your honey by its variety, make sure you are correct. Have some samples tested for pollen counts and other markers. Be aware that not all plants can be represented by pollen counts. Some are

under-represented. It’s only when you test the pollen content of the honey that you get a feel of what’s in the area of the beehive. Bees generally forage within 2.5 kilometres of the hive, but they can fly 14 kilometres if they have to. The only problem is that when bees are foraging at a great distance, they will use most of the nectar they collect in flying home.

Source for table New Zealand Honey Food and

Ingredient Advisory Service. (1997, February). New Zealand Honey sensory profiles —Monofloral varieties.

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WE WANT YOUR HONEY!!! All Honey varieties required Sean Goodwin at 100% Pure New Zealand Honey inTimaru is waiting for your call: Phone: 03 688 7150 Mobile: 021 872 583 Email: [email protected] Post: 15 Treneglos Street, PO Box 2155, Washdyke, Timaru 7910

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

UMFHA TARGETS UK WITH CAMPAIGN IN THE NEWS UMF™ Honey Association The UMF™ Honey Association’s promotional campaign in the United Kingdom got under way in January, focusing primarily on driving consumer awareness of the UMF™ quality trademark and the Association’s international science programme—the Mānuka ID project.

Dr Adrian Charlton. Photo supplied by UMFHA.

‘fingerprinting’ of mānuka honey. Dr Adrian Charlton, the head of food quality and safety at Fera, has been working alongside the UMFHA as part of the Mānuka ID project for the last five years. With the backing of Fera and the leading opinion leaders in nutrition, the campaign has generated widespread coverage across the UK and internationally. The UK’s leading print and online publications have highlighted the work being done, including The Times, The Grocer, New Food Magazine, Retail Times and a feature in the Healthy Diet Magazine. The UMFHA’s grading system is unique and unrivalled. As part of an advanced scientific programme, it is the only system that tests for the key signature compounds independently verified and proven to be found in mānuka

This campaign follows on from the successful ‘This is Mānuka’ symposium held in Auckland in August 2016. The UK activity focuses on providing information to UK consumers and news media about the Association’s advanced international science programme.

honey. The resulting UMF™ grading system that harnesses international science provides product certainty via the UMF™ quality trademark, giving consumers a high level of confidence when buying mānuka honey. All UMF™ products are independently tested and verified to confirm that they contain these unique compounds. UMFHA members currently represent over 80% of all exported retail packs of mānuka honey from New Zealand. As the leading representative body for the mānuka honey industry, the Association continues to support market opportunities and science that protects and benefits both members and consumers.

On-the-ground activities have included:

1. explaining the Mānuka ID project

2. profiling some of the experts involved

3. holding a series of educational presentations; and working with key opinion leaders and science partners, including Dr Adrian Charlton of Fera and leading nutritionist Amanda Ursell. Fera UK has been part of a New Zealand- based team in the development of the

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

FROM THE CHATHAMS

IT RAINS, IT FLOWERS, WE SMILE AND BEES SHINE

Mana Cracknell and Michele Andersen

Flowering in February are the Chatham Island aster, rautini, tree koromiko and tarahinau, as well as white clover, yellow maku lotus clover (Lotus pedunculatus), dandelion and gorse.

Number 8 wire is alive and well where necessity drives invention Living on an island, one cannot swim to the industrial part of town or visit a specialist store close by to purchase equipment or parts for repairs. On the Chatham Islands, there is one garage, one hardware shop and two grocery stores. Air and sea freight are very costly and weather dependent, with competition for limited cargo space. This reality causes us to be thrifty, self-reliant and innovative problem solvers in simple but practical ways. Often we need to design, adapt and build for our needs, and equipment may have to perform a multitude of tasks and functions. Like many would-be beekeepers, we have been suckers for the flashy new (plastic) equipment appearing in beekeeping magazines. After a few downers, it has become clear that the genius graduating from a design course might not have sat

down and identified the plethora of tasks a pressured beekeeper will need to complete to render a costly new purchase fully operative, functional and profitable within a fast-moving beekeeping environment. Following are eight of 20 ways that we have adapted and now use standard pieces of beekeeping equipment. The list of ways is growing and evolving as we study beekeepers and beekeeping approaches in the recent past; i.e., the past 300 years.

3. With the ventilator removed, the mat can be used for introducing a new queen or when uniting hives. 4. Used as a (three-way) top entrance above the queen excluder to enable more foragers to access the honey super directly during the honey flow. 5. Used as a pheromone reducer for queen rearing; e.g., as part of the Cloake board system, as shown in the photo below.

Hive mat with three entrances and a removable ventilating insert

Pheromone reducer with front entrance open: Harry Cloake’s board system.

1. Used as a ventilated hive mat for hive moisture reduction; e.g., in curing honey. 2. Used as a separator for a topbox mating hive or for setting up splits.

Aster and tarahinau in the wild.

continued...

continued...

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

Hives at Kaingaroa School. All photos by Michele Andersen.

Same hive mat stapled to a feeder ring: 1

When ET returned to the Chatham Islands as a drone

were assembled to allow for that. The air cushion keeps the bees warm, we can use cheap straps to secure the hives and wooden pallets rot.” Both hives were double queeners living and laying in the same brood boxes and very happy with their arrangement. We took the old queens away. Visitors: some came and two stayed In the past two months, several beekeepers have visited the island as part of tour groups and we met up, caught up and shared information. They are aware of the challenges that bees and beekeepers face on this island and they have left with some good information to help them refine and redefine their commercial operations and approaches. We have shared with them the mission and vision to establish the island as a bee-safe sanctuary, with its own beekeeping school and research and development arm to serve the bee needs of our country. We have spoken about our need to build investment and skills partnerships and our aim to create a new industry on, for and with the island community. Another beekeeper arrived on 9 February. This year the island gained two more beekeepers. Both have had employment as entry-level hive workers within commercial beekeeping operations. Planning a visit? If beekeepers are coming to the island, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected]

Throwback gene, or is this drone sporting new Chatham shades? This rare drone has an ancient recessive gene that causes it to have white eyes. We need to do more research and II (Instrumental Insemination) to identify breeding potential. Cordovan queens also carry a recessive gene. Seven years ago, we crossed that gene with the Buckfast and other indescripts to produce several super queens. Unfortunately, when you have a giant queen that lays 5000 eggs a day, it creates all kinds of management problems from a beekeeper’s point of view. We shut down the programme to give us time to think through the implications for beekeeping. It’s true: kids are indeed future kings and queens As shown at the top of this page, we have cleaned up the two hives at Kaingaroa School. The child-sized suits have been washed and the bees are ready to teach the kids. The new teacher said, “Oh, those hives fit on the fish bins” and we replied, “Yes, the baseboards

6. Set-up is used with a recycled plastic tray to deliver the winter bee feed mix 2 directly above the cluster. 7. Turn the ring and mat over, open the front facing entrance, staple it to the brood box and we have a temporary baseboard. 8. This is also used as a bee escape hatch. Close the doors on the hive mat. Place a queen excluder on top of the ring or on top of the brood box and use it to encourage bees to exit the honey super one week before the honey super is removed. 3

1 The feeder ring/square is made by cutting a full-depth box to produce a three-quarter honey super to meet the demands of advancing age over beauty. 2 We discovered the recipe on the Canadian Bee Feed bag was mainly for drowning bees, so we developed our own recipe and delivery mechanism. The goal was to cut feed costs by 80% while improving outcomes by 80%. Our winter hive loss rate is now at 1%. 3 We found bees did not like crossing the empty space (the feeder ring) to get to the honey super above, so they stayed downstairs and packed the brood boxes with honey (which is all good for winter).

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

EDUCATION

RECIPROCAL VISIT OF TAMARA MITCHELL TO THE UK Phoebe Lamb and Tamara Mitchell

Left to right: Margaret Ginman and Phoebe Lamb.

In the first week of July 2016, one of the Rowse/Bee Farmers’ Association (BFA) apprentices, Phoebe Lamb, from Beeworthy Hives, Staffordshire, welcomed Tamara Mitchell, of Kaimai Range Honey Ltd, all the way from New Zealand. Phoebe spent some weeks working on the Mitchell’s honey farm in January this year—an opportunity provided by the BFA to willing apprentices in their first and second years (see Bee Farmer, 2 (2), 04/2016, pp 3–9). Phoebe’s experience Phoebe describes the experience in her own words: ‘It was great to see Tamara again while she was holidaying in the United Kingdom (UK). We had so much to catch up on since I came home from New Zealand and she was keen to learn as much as she could about how we keep our bees and operate our business. Of course, Tamara’s family and employees manage over 1500 colonies on the North Island of New Zealand, so our bee farm is comparatively small, but I was pleased to witness her enthusiasm as we compared hive types, methods of queen rearing, splitting and combining, extracting, feeding, overwintering and pest management.

‘Tamara was keen to fit into the schedule of our working week, accompanying us to out-apiaries and assisting in all aspects of our work. At only 20 years of age, Tamara has over ten years experience handling honey bees and her competence is clear from the outset. I was thrilled to see Tamara again and we continue to stay in touch using social media, comparing notes on all sorts of things, both bee-related and otherwise! Her family, the Mitchells, were ever so kind to allow me to stay with them to learn as much as I did. Similarly, we were very lucky to host Tamara for a week. Sorry for the incessant questions, Tam!’ Tamara’s view Tamara said: ‘As it is winter over in New Zealand now, I have had the opportunity to spend some time with my dad’s side of the family, in Cornwall, UK, as well as to visit Phoebe and her family. ‘I got to help them check several apiaries. The final day I went out with them, it was such a clear sunny day—I could tell the bees were loving it! ‘I was interested to hear that they use the same criteria as my own parents when choosing apiary sites, although in New Zealand we prefer afternoon sun on the hive entrances. The Shaws (Phoebe’s parents) explained that they point their hive entrances towards the morning sun. ‘Being used to the friendly bees of home, I was told to be careful when handling British bees. I was pleasantly surprised when I was around even the largest colonies that they were calm and a joy to work with. ‘I also got to see how the Shaws extracted, packed and sold their honey, which was awesome—they have a great set up! ‘As a younger beekeeper, I am so grateful for the experience to see how other people around the world keep their bees. Even though my family and I manage hundreds more colonies, it is good to be able to assess the similarities and differences of both businesses. ‘Ten out of ten experience for the beekeeping and the hospitality!’

Radio Day Apprentice, Phoebe Lamb, and Bee Farmers’ Association general secretary, Margaret Ginman, reached more than ten million listeners during a radio day set up by partners Rowse Honey. Throughout the day they spoke to Jazz FM, Talk Radio, Radio Gloucester, Radio Borders, Yorkshire Coast, BBC Five Live and twenty other radio stations. Feedback came thick and fast when the item was picked up for BBC Radio 2 and it featured on its news bulletin throughout the afternoon. Secretary of the Bee Farmers’ Association, and Bee Farmer editor Alex Ellis for permission to reprint and supplying photographs, some of which are reprinted here. Thanks also to Apiculture New Zealand Waikato Hub member Pauline Bassett for liaising with the Bee Farmers’ Association to obtain permission to reprint these articles. Sources Ginman, M. (2016, Apr). Apprentices in New Zealand. Bee Farmer, 2 (2), 4–9. Lamb, P, & Mitchell, T. (2016, Aug). A visitor from New Zealand. Bee Farmer, 2 (4), 28. Photography: Isaac Knap, Phoebe Lamb and supplied by Sebastian Leaver. [Editor’s note: see page 17 for a photo essay about Phoebe Lamb’s summer with Kaimai Range Honey, and look out for a follow-up article about the Mitchells’ trip to the UK.] Acknowledgements Thanks to Margaret Ginman, General

Tamara (left) and Phoebe (right).

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I have been trialling AgriSea for the past year and I am very impressed with the low losses I have achieved this year (1%), plus it just makes sense that the nutrients, amino acids and vitamins in AgriSea must be assisting the health of the hives when compared to using straight sugar syrup. When used in high concentrations 30ml per litre of syrup I have seen brood rearing mid winter and believe that the nutrients in AgriSea go a long way in assisting brood development. Stu Ferguson WE ADD AGRISEA TO EVERYTHING

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100L - $50 OFF & Free Freight NOW $1086

20L Free Freight $258

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FARM NUTRITION | 0800 SEAWEED

17

NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017

NIGHT RUN TO THE ‘NAKI PHOTO ESSAY

Jody Mitchell reports that UK beekeeper Phoebe Lamb returned to Tauranga-based Kaimai Range Honey from November 2016 through February 2017 to experience pollination, making up new hives and preparing hives for the honey flow. Jody says that she took these photos “as we were about to start loading out hives for a night run to our Taranaki Honey site (six hours away)”.

Midnight cowboys

The team about to start loading out hives for the night run. Front row, left to right: Abbey Borman, Anthony Knap, Isaac Knap, Phoebe Lamb (UK). Back row, left to right: Daniel Hammond, Cole Pearse, Tamara Mitchell (with new pup Carni: short for Carniolan like the bee breed), Jody Mitchell and Ralph Mitchell.

Morning helicoptering

View from above

Phoebe Lamb & Isaac Knap loading hives from home at sunset before heading to Taranaki. Photos: Jody Mitchell.

March Specials on Honey Tanks, Extractors and Wax melters

4-Frame non reversible manual on legs $646.00 + GST NOW $581.40 + GST 4-Frame reversible

4-Frame non reversible electric with eco motor $1579.00 + GST NOW $1421.10 + GST 4-Frame reversible electric with eco motor $2350.00 + GST NOW $2115.00 + GST

Honey tanks Assorted sizes available

3-Frame bench $420.00 + GST NOW $378.00 + GST

3-Frame on legs $490.00 + GST NOW $441.00 + GST

6 Frame electric tangential reversible variable speed $5700.00 + GST NOW $5130.00 + GST

manual on legs $1426.00 + GST NOW $1283.40 + GST

Beeswax melter electric 115L on legs Beeswax melter approx 38L (220V) Beeswax melter approx 95L (220V) Beeswax melter approx 265L (220V) Immersion honey melter stainless D.420mm

$1060.00 + GST NOW $954.00 + GST $1985.00 + GST NOW $1786.50 + GST $3175.00 + GST NOW $2857.50 + GST $6495.00 + GST NOW $5845.50 + GST

$940.00 + GST

NOW $846.00 + GST

Clearance Specials Swarm wipes - dated stock 1/2 price $23.40 +GST NOW $11.70 +GST

Wax capping press - some rust stains visible, price reduced. $580 +GST NOW $464 +GST

Reversible D.65 extractor eco motor 240v Conversion Kit for 4-frame $1060 +GST NOW $699 +GST

All specials and offers valid until 31/03/2017 or while stocks last

Ceracell Beekeeping Supplies (NZ) Ltd | 09 274 7236 (Auckland) | Fax 09 274 0368 24 Andromeda Crescent, East Tamaki, Auckland | PO Box 204184, Highbrook, Auckland 2161

IMPORTANTMESSAGE

Levy Invoices Under the Biosecurity (American Foulbrood – Apiary and Beekeeper Levy) Order 2003, a levy is imposed on all beekeepers in New Zealand and is payable to the AFB PMP Management Board in order to fund the above Pest Management Plan The invoices are raised in early April of each year and are based on the apiary and hive numbers registered against individual beekeepers on the apiary >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43

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