Trees for Bees 2010

The future of farming relies on all farmers protecting the honey bee, which contributes at least $3 billion a year to GDP, plus one-third of the calories we consumer. Tress for Bees campaign provides encouragement and advice for farmers to plant good pollen and nectar sources along waterways, windbreaks and along roadsides.

Federated Farmers has joined with Landcare Research to develop the helpful plant guide called Trees for Bees, an educational tool for rural and urban communities. It was launched at the Royal Show in Christchurch in November 2009. It comes in 10 regional guides (four North Island and six South Island), which contain different recommendations for appropriate flowering tree and shrub species. The guide is designed to combat declining diversity and abundance. The recommended flowering trees and shrubs have to be attractive to bees, preferably native, or non-invasive exotics, and practical for farmers to grow. Without good pollen sources in early spring, it is difficult to build up bee populations for essential crop pollination services.

John Hartnell is a Christchurch-based businessman who exports honey to Asia and Europe. He began in the industry 30 years ago as an exporter/packer & apiarist. He is the national chairman of Federated Farmers Bees and leads the Trees for Bees campaign.

"With low bee numbers throughout New Zealand, farmers in particular must do their bit by planting trees and shrubs that provide a continual supply of floral nutrition. This is very important if we are to safeguard our bees from the threat of introduced pests, viruses and damaging organisms like Varroa mite and the Israeli Paralysis Virus. Bees directly contribute about $3 billion to our GDP through crop pollination and provide one-third of the calories we consume. Add that to the clover pollination of grassland farming as well as our export meat and dairy industries and the value of bees rises five-fold, he said.

However bees worldwide are facing huge challenges, like Varroa mite and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

The regional recommendations of trees and shrubs to plant also contain advice on what to avoid, because they are on the noxious plants list or injurious to bee health.

Linda Newstrom-Lloyd, research scientist at Landcare Research, Lincoln, says the key to good bee health is a continual supply of diverse pollen and nectar from natural sources. Bees consume pollen as a protein and vitamin source and nectar for energy. While gathering these resources, they move pollen from one plant to another, thereby providing pollination benefits for fruit production and seed production. A shortfall of quality pollen resources in early spring leads to protein stress, that weakens bees, making them more susceptible to diseases and pests, like Varroa, slows the breeding output of the queen and results in low field strength and under-performing pollination services. She said that a number of shelter and erosion control plants also have abundant flowers so that selecting multi-purpose plants is smart farming for healthy bees.

Each regional guide in the Trees for Bees campaign contains about 25 suitable native trees and shrubs and 10-12 non-natives. Examples of what not to plant include barberry, blackberry, gorse, hawthorn and privet.

The campaign leaflets are headed Trees for Bees: Smart farming for healthy bees, bee-friendly land management. They can be downloaded from www.fedfarm.org.nz/ourcampaigns or by request from bee policy advisor Shona Sluys, in Christchurch, on 0800 327 646, fax 04 473 1081.