Kiwis in their droves are said to be digging up the lawn in favour of a few rows of spuds, planting a few berry bushes and a fruit tree or two.
But another buzz, previously common to all backyards, and crucial to many domestic crops, has been falling silent, a phenomenon that is poised to strike Dunedin.
It is the buzz of the honeybee, which has already been quietened throughout much of the country by the varroa mite, as feral bee populations are completely wiped out. Otago's turn is next, with the relentless march of the mite closing on Dunedin.
There is nothing much to be done about that, but there are steps gardeners can take to improve their chances of attracting a few hardworking bees over their fence.
Landcare Research research associate Dr Linda Newstrom-Lloyd says in many cities and towns around the world, including Auckland, neighbourhoods are pooling resources and renting hives.
"This will pollinate their gardens and supply some honey.
"People do not need to be worried about honeybees in residential areas. So long as there are not an excessive number of hives and kids do not interfere with the hives, they do not need to be afraid of bee stings. It is important for kids to learn about and respect honeybees because that is how we get a lot of our food."
The other thing to do is to plant the plants that bees like best.
"People can plant plants that provide pollen," Alexandra beekeeper Michael Vercoe says.
"If they want bees around their garden, they have to do that because there are only two ways a bee finds out where pollen or nectar is ... One, they go for a flight and use their antennae to sniff it out; two, another bee has told them where to go.
"A scout bee will go out and find a source; it will take that taste back to other bees in the hive; it will then do a little waggle dance to tell them which direction, how far and how much is there."
And by feeding bees, you also put food on your table.
"People with fruit trees in their home gardens will be OK this year because varroa is only just here, but next year and from there on they may well notice they won't get the same amount of fruit off their trees. If you have one single cherry tree, you are unlikely get a crop unless bees come from elsewhere with cherry pollen on them," Mr Vercoe says.
"The only bees people will get will be from nearby hives," he warns.
"Unless there are hives in town, people will notice a lot less bee activity."
Dr Newstrom-Lloyd, who helped compile Federated Farmers' "Trees for Bees" campaign, another effort designed to aid the health of the surviving bee population, says the South has particular challenges.
The next few months are a concern for two reasons, she says.
Firstly, bees are just coming out of their winter resting period and need to build up strong hives with healthy bees and high population numbers to be able to pollinate crops.
Secondly, in many places, especially the southern regions of the South Island, not many flowering plants are available in the very early spring and those plants that have been traditionally used, especially gorse and broom, are noxious weeds that are being controlled or eliminated by weed-control programmes.
Spring is a critical time in the pollen-gathering cycle of bees. They consume pollen as a protein and vitamin source and nectar is used for energy. Availability of quality pollen resources is critical during spring, when beekeepers are building up bee populations.
Any shortfall leads to protein stress, which can weaken bees, making them more susceptible to diseases and pests while also dramatically slowing a queen's breeding output.
"We are promoting alternative non-invasive plants for folks to plant for bees at this critical time. For example, native plants like five-finger are great pollen sources for honeybees. Pollen is the main protein source needed for their brood and to develop healthy adults," Dr Newstrom-Lloyd says.
"Varroa will eventually kill off all the feral honeybees in the South Island, just as it has already done in the North Island," she says, pointing to the discovery of varroa in New Zealand in 2000.
It has been in the South Island since 2006, with MAF Biosecurity New Zealand stopping its South Island varroa response programme on June 30, 2009.
That decision was made after the mite was found outside the official South Island control area in September 2008, making efforts to prevent the spread of the mite impracticable.
"People are already noticing fewer honeybees everywhere. So we will be dependent on domesticated honeybees and alternative bees such as the bumblebee and the native bees for pollinating garden vegetables and fruits."
Dr Newstrom-Lloyd says, although honeybees swarm and create new hives in the wild, without varroa control such wild colonies will die within one or two years.
"Alternative pollinators like bumblebees and native bees can do a good job of pollinating, but people will need to make sure they have nesting sites to build up these types of populations."
However, alternative pollinators will not be able to replace honeybees in terms of their numbers.
A healthy honeybee hive has between 40,000 to 60,000 bees. In contrast, bumblebee colonies number only a few hundred and native bees do not build social colonies, instead using solitary nests in the ground or in wood.
"It is very important for everyone, in towns and cities and on farms, to support the honeybee.
"The more trees and shrubs that people plant that are good nutrition for honeybees, the better we will be able to help honeybees battle varroa and prevent other debilitating diseases from weakening the honeybees," Dr Newstrom-Lloyd says.
Sally Brown, of Blueskin Nurseries, which was involved in helping develop the Trees For Bees list of flora in conjunction with Federated Farmers, Landcare Research and others, says both native and exotic plants offer benefits for honeybees.
"The list obviously promotes native biodiversity and benefits for honeybees and the environment, but there is also a bit about exotic plants, which are excellent for pollen and nectar for the bees."
Landcare Research's pollination database also has information about many more plants that could help, including herbs such as dandelion and buttercup.
Bees also face harm from more than 30 pesticides being used in New Zealand. It is a concern also expressed by the National Beekeepers Association, which encourages rural contractors to spray safely.
But the dangers of spray are not limited to intensive agricultural practices, warns Mr Vercoe.
Home gardens can be a deathtrap.
Mr Vercoe: "Another thing people can do is to avoid spraying chemicals around when plants are flowering. If people are spraying for, say, aphids, don't do it during the day, or when bees are landing on flowers. Spray early in the morning or in the evening, on those cool days."
Heading into spring in Otago, the varroa mite killing zone for bees reads Queenstown, Wanaka and Alexandra.
It is a case of when rather than if the varroa mite reaches Dunedin.
"Nothing can be done for the wild hives. Once varroa comes through fully, there will be no feral bees," laments Mr Vercoe.
Another apiarist Blair Dale, of Middlemarch, reckons Dunedin commercial beekeepers and hobbyists have about a year before they have to treat hives or go out of business.
Initially a parasite affecting the Asian bee, varroa has jumped species and now also feeds on the Italian bee, Apis mellifera, which was brought to New Zealand from the United States in 1880, after the introduction by English missionaries of another strain of northern European bee.
Varroa, which kills bee colonies by transmitting viruses from adult honeybees to larvae, was confirmed in Alexandra and Wanaka two months ago and in Queenstown in May after it was brought into the Wakatipu area by a hobbyist beekeeper.
A drastic reduction in bee numbers could sting not just the domestic crop but the whole economy. According to Federated Farmers, the bee is one of the hardest workers in horticulture and agriculture; about $3 billion of New Zealand's GDP is directly attributable to intensive pollination.
So it might be best to spare a particular thought for the honeybee this spring. And make plans to make it as welcome as possible in seasons to come.
• LEARN MORE
For more information, visit:
- www.nba.org.nz
- www.treesforbeesnz.org
