HortNews
	MAF Descends On Arataki Factory

ROTORUA 19/4/2000 - The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday descended on Arataki Honey's processing factory near Rotorua where it said the killer bee mite varroa had been identified.

The mite was traced to the factory from an infected site on the Hauraki Plains, MAF's Matthew Stone said today.

Laboratory confirmation of the mite's presence there was expected later in the day.

Today 22 MAF teams were in the field trying to establish the southern-most boundary of the infected area. They were focusing on the Bay of Plenty, parts of Waikato and the Hauraki Plains, Mr Stone said.

This morning representatives of the National Beekeepers Association (NBA) were to brief Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton and Environment Minister Marian Hobbs while MAF officials will meet the NBA and Federated Farmers this afternoon to discuss events so far and any future action.

Four investigations have begun and one is pending following possible breaches of the ban on moving bees, beehives or used bee equipment, a MAF spokeswoman confirmed today.

The Rotorua discovery followed confirmation of infestation in the Ohope hives of Opotiki apiarists Dick and Bertha Schoneveld, which last week were given the all-clear.

A reprieve given then has proved short-lived, but "there is always the chance they (MAF) have made a mistake", Mrs Schoneveld said today. Earlier samples were found to contain a mite, but not the deadly varroa.

Infection of the Arataki hives is believed to have resulted from bees "hitching a ride" on honeycombs taken there for processing.

Annette Berry from Arataki Honey said testing strips were taken out of a number of hives at the Waiotapu-based apiary yesterday.

"There were little mites there but whether they are varroa or not we don't know. More of the tests are being done today but we haven't had any confirmation just yet. "We put one of them under our own microscope and I said it had six legs. I definitely saw six legs and little feelers, but the varroa mite is a relative of the spider family and has eight legs."

Mrs Schoneveld said the hardest part of dealing with the potentially devastating varroa mite was the 'waiting game'. "We have hives from Ohiwa Harbour through to Waihou Bay and Cape Runaway, they have been tested and the samples are yet to be confirmed and checked. We don't know where and how far it is gone and we can't push it. We just have to wait while we are restricted and not allowed to do anything."