Sailabee

I would consider that an honour esteemed Sir. The good thing was that before Freeslave contacted anyone, he had registered as a beekeeper, and owned a copy of Practical Beekeeping in NZ, so he will make an admirable addition to our merry band at Kumeu Beekeeping Group.

Thanks to the generosity and skills of the Maestro.

This time of the year, there is a plethora of these claims - fed by 'Bee Aware Month' often by those running beekeeping courses, and using them to sell nucs to the newly anointed 'beekeepers'. Unfortunately, the classes often don't give an honest idea of just how much time is required, and they therefore contribute to the tally of losses.

The 4% that is AFB if allowed to continue and spread will grow, and very quickly, not only in one beekeepers hives, but the surrounding hives of others, so that is the major difference - it is the only colony loss type with the ability to affect other competent beekeepers.

Welcome to the forum @TheSwedishLord, no, I don't expect anyone to be keeping Apis cerana japonica in New Zealand, they would have to be imported, and there would be no benefit as they produce very little honey crop, and while we have more hives of Apis Melifera than sensible, before we imported another type of bee, we prefer to encourage our own native species of bees - none of which live as large colonies and produce honey.

I think if the AP 2's could comment, you would find that those beekeepers who don't register all their hives and who don't keep the locations of them up to date, also cut a lot of other corners, and prove to be a major problem for the PMP. The reason Mycoplasma Bovis got so out of hand was because the company who bought it in did not keep their nait register details up to date - there is a parallel in beekeeping with hive rego's.

We buy kitset, so no Chinese component, and the trees here grow in 18 years, so no comparison in the density of the wood fibres.

From a hobbyist point of view, the Russian pine is streets ahead of the local fast grown stuff, and much easier to assemble.

I'm much the same, but as I get older, the people I see as the biggest problem are the fence sitters - I am happy to be on the opposite side of someone opinion wise, but those who don't often express an opinion often to me are the problem - they are means by which things happen, and then everyone works out the effect that it is going to have. I also have the covid kilo problem as the new season starts, so hear you with the back problem, and unlike John Berry, would look like a particularly extreme balloon in a back brace, not a good look.

I am 30 km's north of the harbour bridge, and my 'soil' is bone dry rock hard clay at present instead of squelchy stuff. Not a hope in hell of planting the stuff that was meant to go in in autumn.

One of the biggest risks caused by glyphosate are muppets who 'up the dose level' to get it to perform to their wishes on those plants it is less than effective on - in some countries, it has been the cultural norm - for example in Thailand it can be used at 16 times the recommended dose and still not work, and if that happens in NZ, it will make readings in honey and other foods much higher than would have otherwise have been the case.

Exactly Alastair, load of old cobblers on the news - anyone who owns a pair of red bands knows that glyphosate does jack-zip to gorse, usually the like of Tordon or Grazon is used. The typical and unscrupulous 'money at any cost' leading the gormlous reporter up the garden path, trying to justify price gouging of their own product. It is another sad case of resellers biting the hand of those that do the real work as primary producers - the beekeepers.

Done overseas? The photos that Peter Molan showed of ulcers that had been treated during the original trials were very graphic in demonstrating the speed with which manuka acted.

On the fringes of Auck, we routinely hang gates with one gudgeon up, one down because the scum are usually too compromised to co-ordinate using two spanners to loosen the bolts. One farmer at Makerau went to a family wedding and lost all 24 gates - cows walked up the road to meet them coming home.

Up here they mainly use friesian sheep for milking - used to be a small stud over Waimauku way, but about five years ago, someone stole all the lambs soon after weening and pretty much beggared the plan.