News Release
14 May to 2 June 2000

2 June 2000

NO DECISION ON BEE MITE ERADICATION YET

It was too soon to say whether an attempt to eradicate the varroa mite was feasible, Acting Biosecurity Minister Jim Sutton said today.

The technical experts group, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, has indicated concerns about the feasibility of eradicating the mite, but Mr Sutton emphasised that the group was only one part of a series of things that needed to be completed before the Government could make a decision either way on eradication.

Meanwhile, the ministry has also put a draft eradication plan on its website.

Any proposal would have to take into account the feasibility study, the delimiting survey of how far the mites had spread, and the results of field tests of eradication processes, Mr Sutton said.

Cabinet has yet to approve any recommendations and nothing so far should be taken as an indication that a Cabinet decision was just a formality.

Mr Sutton said the study of the mite's spread had been complicated by the the finding of outbreaks well south of the previously known infected area.

"A great deal of detailed work is being done so that, whatever decision is ultimately made, it will be able to be put in place with minimal delay."

Any eradication programme would also be dependent on the completion of the pollination period for next season's kiwifruit harvest, Mr Sutton said.   Hive numbers would also have to be built up to viable levels for the season after's requirements.

"There may be people out there thinking we are fiddling while Rome is burning.   We're not.   A lot of hard work is being done, both by beekeepers and by MAF staff, to find out exactly what the situation with the varroa mite is."

Cabinet was still expected to consider recommendations about the varroa mite by the end of this month, he said.

Contact:     Cathie Bell, press secretary 025 998 467

Dear Beekeepers,

There is only one option for New Zealand's economy which makes any economic sense - that is, ERADICATION.   To attempt anything else would be ludicrous.

Do I hear cheers of support mixed with occasional howls of discontent?   That is good, you are at least thinking about the effect Varroa mite will have on your business or hobby.
I would ask you to put those concerns aside for awhile and look at the overall likely effect of mites on the New Zealand economy.

1. If varroa mites are declared endemic, most of the feral colonies will die from varroa, which I believe will reduce the bee pollinators of NZ by approx 35% based on information given at meetings held at Wellington recently

2. Because of the difficulties of farming beehives with varroa mites, I conservatively estimate that there will be 20% less farmed beehives in NZ.   Some people suggest there will be a far greater reduction in the earlier years based on overseas experience

3. Beekeeping in New Zealand is not as profitable as beekeeping in many other countries.   We do not produce as much honey per beehive as many other countries and I believe we work a lot harder than other beekeepers do to achieve our results.   Any increase in disease control costs, estimated to be between $14,000 and $20,000 annually per 1000 hives for controlling varroa, will make many beekeeping units unprofitable

4. Estimated value of hives annually to NZ's economy = $2,000,000,000 (two billion) mainly through pollination

5. If varroa mites are declared to be endemic, I estimate the drop in NZ's economy because of lack of pollination by honey bees to be in the order of $750,000,000 (seven hundred and fifty million) annually

6. The Minister has indicated a possible cost of eradication to be in the order of $50,000,000 (fifty million)

7. Eradication costs based on the above costs are equal to 1/15th of expected annual loss caused by lack of pollination if varroa mites are not eradicated

8. Or another way of looking at the problem is, living with varroa mite for seven years would cost NZ's economy 100 times more than a $50,000,000 one-off eradication programme

Yes, you may be able to debate these figures, but the difference is so huge that you will never get away from the fact that it is far cheaper for New Zealand to eradicate varroa than to live with varroa.

These huge figures makes our personal feelings on possible loss or gain from eradication or having endemic varroa mite, pale into insignificance, compared with the overall effect on NZ's economy.

Here are some reasons why it would be extremely beneficial to beekeepers to support the eradication of varroa in NZ.   Beekeepers are the key to this eradication programme.

If beekeepers do not support eradication, it will not be possible to achieve eradication. Government will obviously want it to proceed.   They will be pleased to pay you well to make sure eradication is actioned.   They will not just pay for the depopulation of your hives, but also for losses of profits etc.   A whole raft of things I believe, perhaps even contracts in which beekeepers will be able to participate.

I believe a draft "Operation Plan for Varroa Mite Eradication" will be released very shortly. Perhaps even before you receive this.   I am optimistic this will show you how important a part beekeepers will play in varroa eradication and how it may be beneficial to your beekeeping operations.   There is provision in the Biosecurity Act for compensation.

A team of people employed by MAF is presently working on how best to eradicate varroa mite, taking into account how very expensive it will be if not eradicated, to grassland farmers, orchardists, seed growers, the home gardener and horticulture in general.

I believe at last we are going to be recognised by government as a key part of NZ's economy.   We will be recognised as key people in minimising the serious, almost irreversible threat to NZ's economy.   We will be encouraged in many ways to play our part.

I am looking forward to see just how much benefit we will receive in playing our part, I think it will be huge.   Now, I hope we are all getting a better understanding of the basic principals of how eradication of the varroa mite will affect our beekeeping.

Some people are looking at how it will affect them, looking at the immediate effects of depopulation of their hives and whether they will be able to supply hives for pollination and how this will affect their beekeeping operations.   Other people are looking at how it will affect the NZ economy and how government will deal with the problem.   People are looking at two different problems and naturally come up with two different answers.   It is important to realise that this is a New Zealand problem and not just a problem for beekeepers.   The closer the association you have had with the varroa mite delimitation survey over the last five weeks, the more you will realise that it is indeed a NZ problem.   If you have visited the Bee Head Quarters in Auckland you will have seen the tremendous expertise MAF has in dealing with exotic pests coming through our fragile borders.

Even if the eradication programme is not completely successful in the first instance in all areas, this will still be highly beneficial to NZ's economy.   With the sophisticated equipment, technology and the enthusiasm of MAF personnel whose job it is to eradicate exotic pests, I am sure they will succeed with our help

Do not be daunted by statements that it has "never been done overseas".   To start with their economies do not revolve around rolling to steep grassland farming, that relies on clover for nitrogen fixing which must be pollinated by bees to re-seed.   They do not have the advantage of our apiary register and tracing system.   Most countries have never even attempted to eradicate feral hives - in other words they have never ever really tried to eradicate varroa mites.

The United States of America now has varroa mites which are resistant to miticides, very seriously affecting beekeeping in some States.   It is now obvious that they should have attempted eradication more seriously, when the mites first arrived.

New Zealand beekeepers are some of the most experienced in the world.   With New Zealand's economy at stake, government funding, MAF expertise, AgriQual and beekeepers doing work under contract, and the beekeeping industry supporting eradication, I am sure we can eradicate varroa mites.

Beekeepers will receive benefits from supporting this action.   I am equally sure that if varroa mite becomes endemic in NZ, the cost to the beekeeper of living with varroa will be greater than the current average profit made out of beekeeping by NZ beekeepers.   This leaves us with the only viable option - to support varroa mite eradication for the good of NZ economy and for the viability of your business future.

We ourselves have over 3000 hives in the infected zone, a lot of which will probably be eradicated.   So we have had to think long and hard and talk with many people before coming to this conclusion.   I thank you for reading this and trust it will have been helpful.   Never let it be said by our children that we did not even try to eradicate varroa mite.

The small outbreaks in Te Puke, Rawene north of Auckland, Te Kauwhata north of Huntly, Te Rore north of Te Awamutu and Tapu north of Thames and the one site just north of Thames are unlikely to have many, if any, infected feral hives surrounding them at this stage.

I would recommend immediate eradication of these infected sites, and hives within a 5 km to 7 1/2 km radius around any highly infected site, and a 2 1/2 to 5 km radius around a lightly infected site and an on-foot eradication programme of all feral colonies in the same area where farmed beehives have been eradicated.   The infected site just north of Thames will probably need a poisoning programme also because of the steepness of the terrain and heavy bush cover.

The owners of all registered hives which have to be depopulated should receive in the first instance an appropriate payment per hive.   All farmed hives should have Apistan strips placed in them for a further 5 km outside the eradication zone to make sure there are no varroa mites present.

The above eradication, if started immediately, should clear these areas well before pollination takes place and will not unduly affect beekeeping.   Hive numbers will be relatively low, also the expense of achieving eradication would be low.   Any new finds should also be treated in the above manner.   I believe there will be an increasing number of beehives for sale in New Zealand which could be purchased for replacement of these hives.

The Hauraki Plains I believe, is the next area to eradicate, as it will be relatively easy to deal with feral hives in this area compared with Auckland.   I would expect a few feral hives to possibly have varroa mites on the Hauraki Plains area.   The Hauraki Plains should have varroa mites eradicated by next Spring.

The Auckland area is going to be the hardest area to eradicate varroa mites in feral colonies and it will I believe, take more time to eradicate varroa in Auckland than in any other area.   But the big advantage of the Auckland area, because of its geographic location with its narrow neck of land with sea on each side, is that it should be relatively easy to 'fence' off from the rest of New Zealand.

Regards,

Russell Berry
Managing Director - Rotorua Division Arataki Honey Ltd
26 May 2000

Two new varroa finds in Infected Zone

After a clear day yesterday, two small sites well within the known areas of infection, at Grey Lynn and Blockhouse Bay, have tested positive for varroa.   The number of Infected Places is now 281, owned by 131 beekeepers - an increase of one.   2,584 apiaries, housing 49,872 hives, have now been visited after following 2,286 traces.

MAF is briefing the Cabinet Infrastructure and Environment Committee today, and is convening a meeting of technical experts this afternoon and evening to review, question, and validate the work that has been done to determine whether eradication of varroa is technically achievable or not.   This meeting includes representatives from the National Beekeeping Association and the Kiwifruit Pollination Association along with invited observers from interested government ministries and departments.

Six movement permits were requested yesterday, with thirteen issued.   The pending pile stands at thirteen - most awaiting results of Apistan tests.   There are 36 teams out in the field today.   All going well, the intensive surveillance to complete the delimiting survey will be completed by early next week.

A comprehensive collection of information about varroa is available on the MAF website.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.

COST OF INACTION TOO HIGH

Neil Barton, Chairman of the Grains Council of Federated Farmers, said today that while the cost of eliminating the Varroa mite may be high, the cost of not eradicating the pest will be even higher.

"A one-off investment in a successful eradication program to eliminate the Varroa mite from our environment, ensuring a continued high income stream from exports, would be a highly profitable investment," said Mr Barton.

"The value of pollination by honey bees to the arable industry is immense. For the good of the New Zealand economy, the Grains Council urges the Minister of Agriculture to use every endeavour to eliminate the Varroa mite from our country."

There are approximately 24,000 hectares of crops (both seed multiplication and herbage seed production) that are reliant on honey bees for pollination.  Such crops include clover, oilseed and specialist vegetable seed crops.  These crops contribute approximately $43m of export revenue annually to New Zealand's economy.

"Producers of these crops will undoubtedly face large production cost increases if the Varroa mite is not eradicated.  These costs will arise from the extra chemical and labour requirements beekeepers will face in controlling the pest."

Without a committed eradication program, the Varroa mite will spread throughout New Zealand, causing beekeeping profitability to fall.  Subsequently, there will be a drop in both the number of beekeepers, and in the number of commercially managed bees.  The pest may also completely destroy the feral population of bees, which currently play a valuable but largely unrecognised role in New Zealand's crop production.

"The increased beekeeping costs, which will be passed on to growers, will clearly decrease the profitability of seed multiplication and herbage seed production, and will significantly reduce the substantial export income that cropping generates."

For further information:
Neil Barton
021-441-125 or 03-688-8238
Kevin Geddes 03-307-8148

Hopes that intensive varroa surveillance will be completed shortly

This week is likely to be the last of intensive surveillance to complete the delimiting survey.  Surveillance is largely completed in the original Infected Zone, but will continue this week in the Buffer Zone. Testing activity this week will involve completing testing of all sites in the 15 km around the infected places outside the Infected Zone (detected by tracing), in particular around the Te Puke sites.  The project targeting sites in the Buffer Zone in common ownership with infected sites in the Infected Zone is also continuing.

MAF programme co-ordinator Matthew Stone explains that the survey strategy has been based upon analysis of varroa spread mechanisms.  Natural spread is detected by testing around infected places.  Spread by beekeepers is detected by either the tracing operation, or by targeted sampling based on apiary risk profiling.  Apiaries owned by beekeepers who have other infected apiaries are considered to be a high risk, because of the potential for beekeepers to inadvertently spread varroa between their sites in the normal course of business, prior to movement controls being established.

"All going well, we hope to have completed the delimiting survey by early next week, to a point upon which decisions regarding control can be taken" said Dr Stone.

MAF has a briefing paper going to the Cabinet Infrastructure and Environment Committee on Wednesday, which reports that MAF propose to present a substantial paper to Cabinet by the end of June.  The briefing paper updates the situation to date, and notes the process by which MAF will determine a preferred control option.  This is occurring by consultation with experts and stakeholders to determine the technical feasibility and likelihood of success of an attempt at eradication, and the associated economic implications.

"While there was an expectation that we MAF would report back to Cabinet by end of May, the new finds of varroa have meant that field activities have had to be extended.  We have said from the outset that we cannot make good decisions about control options until we understand how widespread varroa is.  MAF will report to Cabinet as soon as the technical and economic teams are confidently able to make firm recommendations, and it will certainly be before the end of June," said Dr Stone.

He added that MAF is acutely aware that the continuing uncertainty, in particular whether eradication will be attempted and how, is affecting the beekeeping industry and other sectors that rely on it for pollination services.  MAF is ensuring representatives from the National Beekeepers Association are kept informed on progress, especially through their participation in the technical group evaluating control options.

The number of infected places remains 279, owned by 129 beekeepers.  An area in the Mamakus near Rotorua, the traced source of positive hives in Friday's National Park find, is also considered infected.  As that site is on public land it does not appear in the Infected Places total.

The number of apiaries visited is now 2,469, containing 47,683 hives.  No movement-permit requests were received yesterday on 0800 109 383, however five permits were issued and one declined, with 11 pending.  The free phone enquiry line (0800 809 966) has now received 1,894 calls.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF.
04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association
Executive Member. 025-357-970.

Two new varroa sites "predictable"

Two new varroa-infected places have been identified within the established heavy clusters of infection.   MAF spokesman John Hayes reports the new sites are owned by hobbyist beekeepers in the Remuera and Point England areas of Auckland, and are to be expected as part of the predictable course of this epidemic.

The number of infected places has risen to 275, owned by 128 beekeepers.   The number of traces now stands at 2,318 after a further attempt to complete the South Island survey.   33 of 86 outstanding South Island beekeepers, who could not be contacted during the main survey, have now been located.   Two of those had shipments from the North Island, but not from areas that cause concern.

There are 35 teams out in the field today.   The number of apiaries visited is now 2,274, containing 43,747 hives.   Eight movement-permit requests were received yesterday on 0800 109 383, with 12 issued - depleting the "pending pile" - and one declined.   The free phone enquiry line (0800 809 966) has now received 1,839 calls.

Four new beekeepers have registered, with six sites and 22 hives.

Information on the varroa mite is available on the MAF website.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970

No new varroa finds as the next phase begins

Despite 25 teams being out in the field, no new Infected Places have been found in the last day.   The Infected Places cumulative total is 273 - after following 2,198 traces, with no high-risk traces to follow at this stage.

Technical experts from MAF National Centre for Disease Investigation, AgriQuality Ltd, Hort Research and the private sector have been drawn together to analyse the technical and logistical issues associated with strategies for control or management of varroa, and to develop operational plans to support those strategies. The National Beekeepers' Association is contributing to this work.

Next week an expert group set up to look at the feasibility of control options will be reconvened to review, question, and validate the work of the technical group on control options, and planning issues related to those options.

A briefing paper for Cabinet is being prepared this week, and MAF expects to submit a substantial Cabinet Paper detailing control options by early next month. MAF is planning to have whatever control option is chosen in place and operational before the next pollination season.

The movement permit free-phone operation (0800 109 383) received 16 new requests for permits, with seven being issued, one declined, and the rest still pending.

Information on the varroa mite is available on the MAF website.

Contacts

John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.

Field Operations Response Team

We have now reached day 40 of the response and the following is a summary of the activities from the Field Operations Response Team (FORT).

Firstly we would like to thank the beekeepers for their support in this response.   This support has been invaluable both in providing information and physically assisting with the survey.   Many beekeepers have worked long hours which is much appreciated by the FORT and the industry as a whole.

To date we have inspected over 2000 apiaries containing 40,000 hives and collected in excess of 8,000 sticky board samples.
This has resulted in a total of 266 infected places containing 3768 hives owned by 122 beekeepers.   The FORT has responded to 1,803 phone enquiries and carried out 2,015 traces on movement of bees and equipment.   In the South Island all beekeepers were phoned regarding movements from the North Island (1500 beekeepers).

The aim of the fieldwork is to identify the extent of the spread of the mite and to clarify the risks to apiaries outside the infected area.   At present the FORT is concentrating on completing three major projects (approximately 10 days work) to gather information from:

• The infected area
• Apiaries outside the infected area owned by beekeepers in the infected area
• Apiaries associated with high risk traces from the infected area

Apart from the information gathering in the field, a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to facilitate a cabinet decision on the next step to take.   These include:

• Ongoing technical assessment of the information gathered to date
• A scoping operational plan to eradicate Varroa
• A technical group, including experts and industry, exploring the different options available
• An impact assessment of the effect of the mite on the different industries involved and a cost benefit analysis on the options available to deal with Varroa

The field efforts and the supporting work are now entering the final stages.

Once again on behalf of the Field Operations Response Team and MAF I would like to thank the beekeeping industry for their continuing support.   Without your contribution the results to date would not have been achievable.

If you have any enquiries please do not hesitate to ring 09 256 9395 or for permit applications 0800 109 383.

Lester Mattson
FORT Controller

General Information

MAF's mapping capability is being put to very good use as the implications of varroa are assessed.   As every new apiary is confirmed with varroa it is logged in the database by willing in putters.   Then the mapping boys take over and with a few clicks of the mouse they produce great looking maps in full colour, that tell us how many registered apiaries and hives fall within 15 kilometres of these infected places.   With a few more clicks they can reach deep into the files of another great database called AgriBase, and tell us how many hectares of orchards, and crops like squash, there are within this 15 kilometres.   All the crops selected require bees for pollination so we can begin to assess the effects on growers, as well as beekeepers, of depopulating hives within this area.

AgriBase data is built up from surveying farmers and growers, just as the apiary database is built up from returns from beekeepers.   There will be inaccuracies in AgriBase too as critical crop areas may be classified as fruit instead of kiwifruit or avacados, and small areas under 2 hectares may not be captured.   But even with these factors the data still gives us a good idea of the scope of the problems facing the policy makers.

For the Auckland-Hauraki Plains Infected Zone (ie 15 km around each Infected Place or apiary) there are 1173 apiaries, 16581 hives and 2423 hectares of orchards or cropping land that require bee pollination.   For the Te Puke area there are 260 apiaries, 2920 hives, and 4198 hectares of orchards.   In the Waikato (2 infected apiaries so far) there are 276 apiaries, 4739 hives and 204 hectares of orchards.

Varroa traces top 2,000

Seven new Infected Places have been found within the original Infected Zone - bringing the total to 273 - after following 2,017 traces.   The new Infected Places are owned by four new beekeepers, raising the total to 126.

The new finds are all within the South Auckland and Hauraki Plains "hotspots", mostly owned by small-scale beekeepers, and the result of in-fill survey work by 21 teams.   MAF spokesman John Hayes says that the detections are the predictable result of refining the knowledge of the known Infected Area.   19 teams are working in the southern part of the Infected Area today, and more Infected Places can be expected from that work.

Technical expertise has been concentrated at MAF's National Centre for Disease Investigation (NCDI) in Wallaceville, near Upper Hutt for strategic analysis of a number of technical and logistical issues.   As a result, some aspects of the varroa campaign have been transferred to the NCDI.   They include Infected Places management, tracing, movement control, and apiary register work.

The practical consequence for beekeepers of this shift should be minimal: the free-phone movement permit request operation on 0800 109 183 has been redirected to Wallaceville, and the fax number for requesting movement permits has changed to 04 526 5601.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.

TOO SOON TO RULE MITE ERADICATION OUT

The National Beekeepers' Association is strongly disagreeing with National's Biosecurity spokesman David Carter's call that eradication of the Varroa mite should be ruled out.

"Mr Carter's comments are premature to say the least, and unless he has a lot more information than the officials working day by day on the problem, his comments are misinformed," said NBA President Terry Gavin.

"Until the spread of the mite is accurately defined, it is simply impossible for anyone to rule out eradication."

"Economically, eradication makes far better sense than trying to manage the mite and learning to live with an endemic pest."

The NBA and Federated Farmers has called for eradication of the mite if at all possible.   "The beekeeping industry is strongly opposed to any backtracking on eradication."

"Eradication is the best option for both the beekeeping industry, and the much larger horticultural and pastoral industries.   The ongoing cost of managing the mite will be huge, and far more than any figures for the cost of eradication that I have heard so far," concluded Mr Gavin.

Terry Gavin 09-433-1893
Lin McKenzie 025-357-970

No new varroa infections, as the 'Secret Weapon' gets boost Press Release Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

No new varroa infections have been discovered in the last two days.   The total number of Infected Places remains 266 on apiaries owned by 122 beekeepers, after visiting 2,039 apiaries housing 38,802 hives and following 1,927 traces.   18 teams were out in the field yesterday, and today a record 26 teams are working in the original Infected Zone and around Te Puke.

MAF has allocated funds for a substantial upgrade of Apiary Database.   MAF programme co-ordinator Matthew Stone says that the database is the "secret weapon" in the varroa campaign.

"New Zealand is very fortunate, and probably unique, in having such a comprehensive database of registered beekeepers and associated information.   It has been built up over many years through the efforts of MAF, and latterly AgriQuality New Zealand and the National Beekeepers' Association," said Dr Stone.

"It has already proved to be invaluable in the surveillance part of the varroa response.   Now we want to add further capability in the areas of mapping and tracing.   The database will gain extra functionality to aid with field operations and special project work, and if time permits there may be some work done on redesigning the 'front-end' interface of the database.   The upgrade will mean that the database will be even more valuable when we move into implementing whatever control option is chosen"

The specifications for the upgrade have now been written and programming will begin next week.   The upgrade is expected to be completed within a month.

Background:

The Apiaries Database originated in the early 1900s, when concern about American Foulbrood led to a requirement that all beekeepers and hives be registered.   This was made compulsory in the Apiaries Act of 1927.   A paper-based system was converted to a computer database in the '80s, which was substantially re-developed five years ago.   The database records location, disease-status and other information, and is internationally regarded as the premier apiary database in the world.

No new varroa infections, but many hive registrations.

No new varroa infections have been discovered in the last day.  The total number of Infected Places remains 266 apiaries, owned by 122 beekeepers, after visiting 1,961 apiaries housing 37,136 hives and following 1,887 traces.
Since the varroa response began five weeks ago, 228 new beekeepers have been registered, who have 927 sites with 12,515 hives.  MAF programme co-ordinator Matthew Stone is welcoming the surge in registrations.
"The varroa campaign has clearly demonstrated the benefits derived from New Zealand's system of beekeeper registration.  The ability to contact individual beekeepers, map and locate registered apiary sites, and know how many hives to expect on those sites provides an enormous advantage for an exercise such as this.  Early on we identified the risks associated with unregistered hives, and these have been borne out in some instances."  said Dr Stone. "MAF and the National Beekeepers Association encourage all beekeepers to register their hives.  There is every reason to do so in the interests of their individual enterprises and the industry as a whole, and there is nothing to fear through registering now."

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF.
04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association
Executive Member. 025-357-970.

Note: Updated maps are available on the MAF website

Four new varroa infected places outside Infected Zone

Four new varroa infected places outside the Infected Zone have been identified, two of those south of Hamilton. One of the new infected places is 9km north west of Te Awamutu at Te Rore, about 10 km south of Hamilton.  The other is about 40 km south of Hamilton at Rangiatea, to the east of Otorohanga.

There have also been two new infected places identified near Rawene, in close proximity to the original site of infection detected last week.  MAF programme co-ordinator Matthew Stone says that one of the new sites identified is less than a kilometre from the original site, and the other is about two kilometres away.

"It appears that the two new infections in the Hokianga area are probably the result of natural spread from the site originally identified by tracing hive movements.   The new sites south of Hamilton were also identified by tracing movements from South Auckland, and the original Te Puke site by tracing from Hauraki Plains.  These finds emphasise the importance of the tracing operation, in that it has the potential to lead us to infected places distant from the Infected Zone, the focus for much of our surveillance activity.  To date, we have completed 1,870 traces by phone survey, with follow up testing where considered appropriate."

"All the infected sites outside the Infected Zone are in the Buffer Zones established by the Controlled Area notice of 28 April.  Specific movement restrictions are imposed on these sites, and all movements of risk goods in the Infected and Buffer Zones are by permit only.  This system gives us the means to manage the situation to minimise further spread through beekeeping activities." said Dr Stone.

"The new finds have implications for the work to do in order to complete the de-limiting survey, in that testing in the local areas of those new finds and further tracing has to occur.  There are also technical and economic implications for the on-going consideration of control options.  However, we believe we can still meet our commitment to report back to Cabinet by the end of May."

Nine other infected places were identified within the Infected Zone, bringing the daily total to 13.  The cumulative total of infected places is now 266, on apiaries owned by 122 beekeepers. 1,923 apiaries have now been visited, and the total number of hives on visited apiaries is 25,534.  The movement permit free-phone operation (0800 109 383) received nine new requests for permits and they were all issued.

Information on the varroa mite is available on the MAF website.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.

Beekeepers' "exceptional contribution"

50 new Infected Places have been identified, mostly as a result of the voluntary contribution by hobbyist beekeepers who attended a seminar and met the necessary requirements to self-test their hives.   MAF is grateful for the efforts made by the small-scale beekeepers over the weekend, and also wants to acknowledge the outstanding voluntary involvement of beekeepers in the wider varroa response.

MAF programme co-ordinator Matthew Stone says that the contribution made by beekeepers during the campaign has been exceptional.   "These people have made, and continue to make, an enormous contribution during a stressful time for their industry, and no doubt their own enterprises and families.

"At a national level, the National Beekeepers' Association has been working right alongside MAF every step of the way.  We value that relationship, and sincerely thank the association for its continuing help, advice and practical contribution. Five members of the executive have put in a total of over a thousand hours.

"Out in the field, beekeepers have been acting as members of the testing teams, donating many long hours and disrupting their lives in an operation that has gone on for over a month.   Every day between nine and 27 beekeepers have been out in the field, and have donated over 5,000 hours so far, " said Dr Stone.

Apart from the results from hobbyist beekeepers, there were three new varroa detections.   All were within 10 km of the Te Puke site first identified last week, and all at very low infection levels.

Final results have been received from 26 sites tested as part of the Exotic Bee Disease Survey to determine if other exotic diseases were introduced along with the varroa mite.   No exotic diseases have been detected in a raft of tests by MAF's New Zealand Animal and Plant Health Reference Laboratories.   Diseases tested for included European foulbrood, the small hive beetle, the Honeybee Tracheal mite Acarapis woodii, and the Asian mite Tropilaelaps clareae.

The total number of Infected Places is now 242.   The number of beekeepers owning apiaries with Infected Places has risen significantly to 110, mostly due to the hobbyist beekeeper campaign.   1,881 apiaries have now been visited, and the total number of hives on visited apiaries is 34,558.   So far 1,832 traces have been followed.   The movement permit free-phone operation (0800 109 383) received 26 new requests for permits, 10 of which were issued, one declined and the rest are still pending.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.

Heavily infested hive found at Te Puke

Two new varroa-infested places have been detected near Te Puke in close proximity to the original find.  One of the new infected places is a dumpsite only 300 m away from the dumpsite where varroa was first identified in the area.  Both these sites are operated by the same beekeeper.  One hive on the second dumpsite is described as having a heavy infestation, while other hives are light.  A dumpsite is a depot where beekeepers or pollination brokers temporarily place hives.

A high priority is being put on establishing the extent of varroa infestation of the critical Bay of Plenty area.  Tracing hive and beekeeper movements has continued over the weekend, and approximately 70 further apiaries identified for follow up testing.
All of the hives at the site near Rawene that proved positive for varroa last week have now been tested, as have the hives on a companion site operated by the same beekeeper, and thus considered at risk.
Laboratory results will be available in the next few days.

The Hobby Beekeepers Seminar held in Auckland over the weekend was very successful with close to 250 beekeepers attending.  Of the diagnostic kits issued and returned by late Sunday, early visual readings indicate the number of known Infected Places may significantly rise this week once laboratory results have been confirmed.  The results should provide useful information supplementing what is already known about where spread has occurred in the greater Auckland area.

The total number of Infected Places is now 193 on apiaries owned by 62 beekeepers.  1,827 apiaries have now been visited, and the total number of hives on visited apiaries is 33,718.

The movement permit free-phone operation (0800 109 383) received six new requests for permits; with four issued and the pending pile standing at seven.

Information on the varroa mite is available on the MAF website.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.

Eight new varroa-infested sites have been located, all within the original control zone.

The Hobbyist Beekeeper Seminar held this weekend in South Auckland was very well supported by hundreds of beekeepers.  After two training sessions featuring a video, presentations and instructions, beekeepers registered (if necessary), signed the necessary documentation to take part in the varroa campaign were issued with diagnostic kits to take samples from their hives.  Today beekeepers will return with samples taken from their hives, which will be analysed in the MAF laboratory and individual beekeepers will be advised of their results.

Since the varroa response began, 186 beekeepers have been registered who own 11, 105 hives on 799 sites.

MAF and the NBA are urging any beekeepers who have not yet registered to do so quickly, both to assist on achieving the best possible analysis of the varroa situation, and also to ensure beekeepers qualify for participation in future programmes.

The movement permit hotline 0800 109 383 received seven news requests, with three issued and four pending.

1,715 apiaries have been inspected, with 32,776 hives on those properties. The number of Infected Places is now 190, with the number of beekeepers owning those properties remaining 62.
Information on the varroa mite is available on the MAF website.

Contacts
John Hayes, Communications Adviser, MAF. 04-4744-268/04-904-1827.
Lin McKenzie, National Beekeepers Association Executive Member. 025-357-970.