National Bee Week 2009

During National Bee Week, we have highlighted the importance of the honey bee. We began with honey production and then emphasised the valuable contribution of the honey bee to the national economy. Conservative estimates show that about $3billion of our GDP is attributable the intensive pollination of horticultural crops and agricultural pastures achieved using honey bees. About one third of our food comes as a result of honey bee pollination. We highlighted the need to protect the bee in our everyday work by avoiding exposure to chemicals. Our research in recent years has had to focus on Varroa which was detected in New Zealand in 2000.

The Varroa incursion highlights New Zealand’s vulnerability to biosecurity threats.

Pictorial report of the Bee Week visit to Parliament.

NBA President Frans Laas explains bee behaviour to David Carter, Minister of Agriculture; Ruud Kleinpaste, MC and guest speaker; and Maureen Maxwell, Northern Ward representative. Neil Farrer and Clenn Kelly in the background.

Frans Laas (left) and David Carter (right) hold aloft a display of live bees.

Display for the evening reception hosted by David Carter.

The very successful launch of National Bee Week on Tuesday evening was attended by more than 60 guests.

MC Ruud Kleinpaste, David Carter, Minister of Agriculture and for Biosecurity, Jim Edwards, CEO National Beekeepers Association, Kate Wilkinson, Minister of Food Safety and Frans Laas President National Beekeepers Association.

Below: Master of Ceremonies and guest speaker, Ruud Kleinpaste, emphasised the importance of the honey bee and the health of the environment.

Bee Week is not just about celebrating cute bumble bees and hard-working honey bees. It’s about the essential work millions of bees do every day, pollinating crops.

The sting in the tail of Bee Week is a serious message – in other parts of the world, bees are dying.

“We can stop that happening here, but we have to be smart, vigilant and we have to spend money on research,” Horticulture New Zealand CEO Peter Silcock says.

“The value of pollination to New Zealand is almost beyond calculation. Cautious estimates say at least a third of the food we eat is the direct result of pollination.

“Then there are the multi-billion dollars in export earnings derived from pollinated crops, which puts jobs in our rural towns and money in the bank,” Peter says.

Bees make an NZ$3 billion annual contribution to our economy as pollinators of plants and grasses. The major crops such kiwifruit, avocado, apples and the less known crops of small seeds industry grown in Canterbury all rely on the intensive pollination provided by the honey bee. Bumble bees are important pollinators in some crops and are used intensively in glasshouses. The grass feeding based livestock industries rely on the honey bee pollination of clovers in their pastures. Many of these crops would not be viable without bee pollination.