dansar 5417 Posted January 22, 2018 Hundreds of thousands of bees are dying in Murchison, near Nelson and beekeepers are at a loss to save them. Veteran beekeeper Ricki Leahy said he first noticed dead bees in front of his hives in the Mangles Valley last Friday. Leahy, who is an ApiNZ board member, produces Tutaki Honey through his business Trees and Bees. He said the 40 hives used for queen rearing around his home had been affected, as well as another 186 hives located half a kilometre down the road. https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100789676/thousands-of-bees-dying-in-murchison-from-suspected-poisoning 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4671 Posted January 22, 2018 1 hour ago, dansar said: Hundreds of thousands of bees are dying in Murchison, near Nelson and beekeepers are at a loss to save them. Veteran beekeeper Ricki Leahy said he first noticed dead bees in front of his hives in the Mangles Valley last Friday. Leahy, who is an ApiNZ board member, produces Tutaki Honey through his business Trees and Bees. He said the 40 hives used for queen rearing around his home had been affected, as well as another 186 hives located half a kilometre down the road. https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100789676/thousands-of-bees-dying-in-murchison-from-suspected-poisoning Interesting, and sad of course. The pictured hive is partitioned into 3 so that must be where the 400 queens were being kept. To kill that many hives (400 plus) would require a reasonably close poison source I would think as Nucs dont have vast foraging resources. Tests will tell Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 3832 Posted January 22, 2018 (edited) Vexpex and sugar syrup would do it .... ignorance or an axe to grind. The main man brought in a Utube video today of several hives in the States ..... ram raided and doused in diesel. Honey wars the world over. If it's any consolation Ricky , it's amazing how many losses an operation can sustain and still remain viable the next year. Edited January 22, 2018 by jamesc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaihoka 2800 Posted January 22, 2018 1 hour ago, jamesc said: Vexpex and sugar syrup would do it .... ignorance or an axe to grind. The main man brought in a Utube video today of several hives in the States ..... ram raided and doused in diesel. Honey wars the world over. If it's any consolation Ricky , it's amazing how many losses an operation can sustain and still remain viable the next year. I think it is ignorance . There has been a big push for wasp control in the nelson paper using vespex. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5827 Posted January 22, 2018 With the number of bees involved whatever it is it's a large amount of stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaihoka 2800 Posted January 22, 2018 5 minutes ago, yesbut said: With the number of bees involved whatever it is it's a large amount of stuff. Murchison has at times been wasp central for NZ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4671 Posted January 22, 2018 I wonder if Rudolf Hendrik Kleinpaste aka "Bugman" has been misquoted or .... https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/plan-bee/96280526/bugman-honeybees-are-an-invasive-threat-to-native-bees Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4671 Posted January 22, 2018 2 hours ago, jamesc said: Vexpex and sugar syrup would do it .... ignorance or an axe to grind. The main man brought in a Utube video today of several hives in the States ..... ram raided and doused in diesel. Honey wars the world over. If it's any consolation Ricky , it's amazing how many losses an operation can sustain and still remain viable the next year. Does the Fibronil stay in the Wax and Nectar . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BJC 76 Posted January 22, 2018 35 minutes ago, Philbee said: I wonder if Rudolf Hendrik Kleinpaste aka "Bugman" has been misquoted or .... https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/plan-bee/96280526/bugman-honeybees-are-an-invasive-threat-to-native-bees Some of the follow up comments from readers are disturbing 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwi Bee 566 Posted January 22, 2018 Not related to this case however it looks like other countries are having problems with bees being poisoned/killed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beefree 291 Posted January 22, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, yesbut said: With the number of bees involved whatever it is it's a large amount of stuff. Not necessarily, Fipronil is extremely potent, all it might take is one or a few trips by a robber to take out a hive. I heard a story where someone sprayed fripinol on an ants trail, but unfortunately the ants started to go into a hive close by, so the amount on their bodies was enough to take out the hive.@frazzledfozzle Is your beekeeper friend up the valley there ok? Sounds like he might be the one that lost 80 hives. Edited January 22, 2018 by beefree Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
milkandhoney 173 Posted January 22, 2018 10 hours ago, Philbee said: I wonder if Rudolf Hendrik Kleinpaste aka "Bugman" has been misquoted or .... https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/plan-bee/96280526/bugman-honeybees-are-an-invasive-threat-to-native-bees I once heard it said that when a scientist becomes a media figure, their scientific credibility becomes seriously impaired. Rudd's comments are at best cause for consideration and at worst inflammatory. What has been reported is little more than a 'sound bite'. He provides no evidence that there are declining numbers of native bees, either on a species or population level, but rather states that 'scientists' suspect there may be competition between social and solitary bee species. While that is probably not an unreasonable assumption (given that inter-specific competition is the fuel of evolution), to actively fear-monger borders on negligent. Simply irresponsible reporting. Again. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alastair 7903 Posted January 22, 2018 That would be devastating, to have this strike at the heart of your queen raising operation. Not only are the bees wiped out but he'd be worried about using any of the gear again. So sorry for him. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4671 Posted January 23, 2018 Whats incredible is the relative isolation of these hives. They are clearly visible on Google earth and there are very few neighbors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5827 Posted January 23, 2018 29 minutes ago, Philbee said: Whats incredible is the relative isolation of these hives. They are clearly visible on Google earth and there are very few neighbors. I must have an inferior version of GE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BeeGirl 114 Posted January 23, 2018 20 hours ago, Kiwi Bee said: Not related to this case however it looks like other countries are having problems with bees being poisoned/killed. Yes, I'm very interested in seeing how this one is going to pan out in New Zealand, as Confidor is one of the products used in my workplace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4671 Posted January 23, 2018 (edited) 43 minutes ago, yesbut said: I must have an inferior version of GE. 2.1 km up the road on left Just past that squashed cat Edited January 23, 2018 by Philbee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dansar 5417 Posted January 23, 2018 News video of the hives. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/just-burst-into-tears-devastation-after-poisoning-kills-thousands-bees-near-nelson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaihoka 2800 Posted January 23, 2018 44 minutes ago, dansar said: News video of the hives. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/just-burst-into-tears-devastation-after-poisoning-kills-thousands-bees-near-nelson Why would the hives need to be burnt . Does fipronol ,if it is , not break down . Do the bees spread it All over the wood and frames. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daley 4302 Posted January 23, 2018 On 1/22/2018 at 10:32 PM, Philbee said: I wonder if Rudolf Hendrik Kleinpaste aka "Bugman" has been misquoted or .... https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/plan-bee/96280526/bugman-honeybees-are-an-invasive-threat-to-native-bees What a tragic article. The ‘news’ really isn’t what it used to be, turns out you don’t need a basis of facts. You can just make up whatever you like and people will believe everything they read. The world is getting dumber and dumber. 45 minutes ago, dansar said: News video of the hives. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/just-burst-into-tears-devastation-after-poisoning-kills-thousands-bees-near-nelson Was a very sad snipet indeed, I would say it was accidental but doesn’t make it any less gutting. Poor guy. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5827 Posted January 23, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Daley said: You can just make up whatever you like and people will believe everything they read. So you don't agree that honeybees have displaced native nectar gatherers at all ? Nothing else would harvest Rata, Manuka, Mahoe , Lemonwood, Tii, Flax etc etc ? Edited January 23, 2018 by yesbut 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dennis Crowley 1130 Posted January 24, 2018 On 22/01/2018 at 10:32 PM, Philbee said: I wonder if Rudolf Hendrik Kleinpaste aka "Bugman" has been misquoted or .... https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/plan-bee/96280526/bugman-honeybees-are-an-invasive-threat-to-native-bees Have heard(I was party to) if you want Rude to comment or offer some advice/help it will cost you $$$$, not saying anything wrong with that, but it just makes you wonder are you getting the best advice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daley 4302 Posted January 24, 2018 6 hours ago, yesbut said: So you don't agree that honeybees have displaced native nectar gatherers at all ? Nothing else would harvest Rata, Manuka, Mahoe , Lemonwood, Tii, Flax etc etc ? Not really. I could be wrong, I’m not an expert on native pollinators. I think they’re less fussy then honeybees and don’t need the same conditions, they seem to be all over the Manuka regardless of the temperature, I always see 10x more native bees than honeybees on a Manuka bush, there must be a degree of competition but I wouldn’t have thought the native bee population would be suffering. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5827 Posted March 6, 2018 More on this incident, seems as though Fipronil was the cause. Now for the culprit..... https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/101981309/police-investigating-the-possibility-bee-deaths-an-act-of-deliberate-poisoning Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
