Disease search brings stings

Press, 26 January 1984, Page 2

Disease search brings stings

PA Whangarei Bad-tempered bees are making hive inspection a painful task for officials checking on the spread of the bee disease, chalkbrood, In Northland. Ministry of Agriculture staff got “quite a hammering yesterday” with bee stings, said Mr Murray Reid, the Ministry’s national apiary specialist. Some suffered up to 60 stings. ■ If there was a poor honey flow the bees objected to having their hives dismantled and frames pulled apart, said Mr Reid. “It is ah arduous job. Some of the hives we have been looking at are not in very good condition. The equipment is not in very good order which is the recipe for getting a lot of stings,” he said. Results of the survey should be known by the end of the week. Chalkbrood is widespread in Northland. “It appears to be from Kerikeri north,” said Mr Reid. Nine teams of specialists and field workers have inspected hives in Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Peria, Kerikeri, Kaeo, Whangarei, Opononi, Whangaroa, north and south of Kaitaia, and south of Whangarei. Mr Reid said the response from the public and beekeepers had been excellent. The Kerikeri survey headquarters had received more than 150 calls on Tuesday and in Whangarei the Ministry’s office had received a similar number. It looked as though chalkbrood was here to stay, but it could be controlled by management and selective breeding of queen bee stock for resistance. The disease should not have any adverse effects on the beekeeping industry or performance of hives in kiwifruit orchards, he said. Chalkbrood could be spread to other parts of New Zealand as it was not always visible.