Thousands of beehives lost to Cyclone Gabrielle, keepers say

Beekeepers say thousands of hives were lost to Cyclone Gabrielle and its aftermath.

Manaaki Whenua does an annual survey of bee colony losses around the country, and for 2023 it asked about losses resulting from the devastating January storm.

Respondents reported losing 7659 colonies.

Because the survey heard from the keepers of 35 percent of New Zealand's honeybee hives, the results suggest more than 21,000 colonies were lost to Gabrielle.

For the autumn season, natural disasters were the underlying cause of many losses, which overall were estimated to be 16.8 percent, the survey said.

"Overall autumn loss rates - which were included for the first time in 2023 - were highest in the upper North Island and lowest in the upper South Island."

Over winter, the overall loss rate was 12.7 percent.

"These loss overall rates are statistically lower than over-winter loss rates recorded in 2021 and 2022 but are higher than those recorded between 2015 and 2020.

"Over-winter loss rates were highest in the upper North Island and lowest in the upper South Island."

Overall however, the main cause of colony loss last year was still the usual culprit: varroa mites (5.6 percent in autumn last year, and 6.4 percent over winter).