A bee expert is warning the discovery of an invasive hornet species could present a substantial problem for New Zealand’s honey industry.
Aucklanders are being put on alert to look for yellow-legged hornets after a queen was found building a nest on the North Shore.
It is the first time a queen yellow-legged hornet has been found in the country.
The nest in Glenfield has been removed by biosecurity officers, who said that addresses in the immediate area were at threat of a colony establishing.
Victoria University professor of ecology and entomology Phil Lester said examples in Europe proved how devastating this species could be.
He said the hornet would prey on honeybees.
“One of the things it’ll do is it’ll hover outside honeybee hives and wait for returning workers and pounce on them, kill them and take them back to their nests. The workers are substantially affected by that.
“Many are killed, but also the colonies will do things like stop foraging. So, they’ve had a pause in their foraging behaviour because they’re worried that they’re going to get eaten outside.
“The effects of these hornets on honeybees has been substantial with them contributing to colony die-off over in Spain and France and places like that where they’ve been invaded and potential reduction in pollination success for crops and many plants.”
Lester said this hornet species especially affected pollinators and had a wide climate tolerance, meaning they would probably infiltrate many parts of the country.
“It would be a serious concern for the honeybee industry.”
“In places like France, they’re talking about, 30% of colonies are affected by these, contributing substantially to colony loss over there. It’s contributing substantially to a decline in pollination of some crops,” Lester said.
The Victoria University professor said this could add to the list of threats to honeybee numbers in New Zealand.
“We’ve got still a large number of colonies. I think there’s something like half a million colonies of honeybees that are registered throughout New Zealand.
“That’s down from what it was a few years ago. Honeybees have a number of different threats that are posed to them, including the varroa mite parasites and the diseases that they carry. So, this would be another major threat to honeybees here.”
Mike Inglis, north commissioner for Biosecurity New Zealand, has said the discovery of the yellow-legged hornets ahead of summer was particularly concerning.
He said two male yellow-legged hornets were spotted earlier this year in the Auckland suburbs of Grafton and Albany and Biosecurity New Zealand was urging Aucklanders to be on the lookout.
“This is the first time we’ve found a queen yellow-legged hornet in New Zealand,” Inglis said.
“We responded quickly to this threat, but we need the public’s help to eliminate any further risk.
“New Zealand is fortunate to be free of hornet populations, and we want it to stay that way.
“It is a highly adaptable predator with a broad diet, primarily feeding on bees, wasps and flies, but also ripe fruit and flower nectar, posing a risk to growers. It may compete with native insects and birds for food – and it has a painful sting.”
Couldn’t come at a worse time, industry leader says
A leading player in New Zealand’s honey industry warned the potential arrival of the invasive yellow-legged hornet couldn’t come at a worse time.
Comvita chief executive Karl Gradon had a stark warning for the sector, that’s worth more than $400 million of export earnings.
He said the industry was currently in a crisis due to a sustained oversupply of manuka and softening demands in luxury goods globally. Comvita has announced the sector was facing $104 million loss last year alone.
Gradon said an impact from the hornet species, like what’s been seen in Europe, would further slump the market.
He said there are 4000 beekeeping companies in New Zealand and to reduce that at a time when the sector is in crisis would be very concerning.
“We’ve seen three major beekeeping companies go into receivership last month alone and as a result, these continued losses just cannot be sustained,” he said.
“To have further impact on our results through this type of incursion is terrible.
“At the end of the day, Comvita’s material losses and the big decisions we need to make very soon to secure continued support for the business from our shareholders, this could not have come at a worse time,” said Gradon.
Gradon said the establishment of the yellow-legged hornet could have far reaching consequences, including for other sectors.
He said cooperation is needed to eradicate the incursion.
“Bees are the cornerstone of our entire primary industry. So, therefore any threat to pollination at any level, including especially the manuka industry that represents over $400 million of sales, export sales, it’s a big deal.
“We are raising it with the local authorities to get all the support we can possibly get,” he said.
Members of the public are asked to report any sightings of suspected hornets or hornet nests online at report.mpi.govt.nz or by calling Biosecurity New Zealand’s exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
Phil Lester said any hornets should be reported to Bio Security New Zealand, even if people are unsure of the species.
“The hornets are a little bit tricky in that they have a couple of different nest types.
“So, the ones this time of year are the primary nests, they call them, are often hidden, but then later on in the year, they will move and they’ll have a secondary nest site that’s often up a tree or something like that.”
“So, it’s a little bit hidden. You have to keep an eye out for them, but we need to catch them before they do their reproduction. If there are any populations that are around, we need to catch them before they produce more queens, which will be in autumn,” he said.
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