KEY POINTS:
A mystery illness that is decimating beehives in the United States could damage New Zealand's multimillion-dollar kiwifruit industry, a local bee expert has warned.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which causes honeybees to abandon their hives and go away to die, wiped out almost a quarter of United States commercial bee colonies in 2006-2007.
Honeybees pollinate an estimated US$14 billion ($18.3 billion) worth of crops and seeds in the US, so the sudden die-off left experts scrambling for a solution.
Last month researchers found a link between CCD and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), a virus thought to have been carried to the US by imported Australian bees.
Most worrying for New Zealand beekeepers is that the virus, which was found in about 90 per cent of honeybee colonies affected by CCD, is carried by the varroa mite - a pest that has spread to bee colonies in both the North and South Islands.
New Zealand's $720 million kiwifruit export industry relies on honeybees, as do other commercial crops like apples and avocados.
The head of New Zealand's Honeybee Research Institute, Mark Goodwin, said it was likely New Zealand would get the virus at some stage.
If the virus entered New Zealand, the varroa mite would spread it from bee to bee.
Dr Goodwin said IAPV could cause real damage to New Zealand's horticulture industry.
"We're so dependent on honeybees, and, thanks to varroa, we don't have a lot of surplus hives," he said.
"We're quite close to not having enough hives [to pollinate] kiwifruit and avocados as it is."
The biggest risk of infection is from live bees. Dr Goodwin said although New Zealand does not allow imports of live bees, this did not stop the varroa mite entering the country, also carried by live bees.
New Zealand Beekeepers Association chief executive Jim Edwards said members were very concerned about CCD.
"It would be really quite devastating to beekeepers here, and it would be difficult to bounce back."
"It wasn't until varroa came along that people realised the impact bees have," he said.
Mr Edwards said food crops would suffer if a lot of bees died during the cropping season. Alternatives to honeybees, like artificial pollination, are too inefficient to service all of New Zealand's commercial crops.
Mr Edwards said New Zealand should not allow imports of any beekeeping products or equipment until the full causes of CCD are known.
Dr Goodwin said more research was needed to confirm the link between CCD and IAPV. Australian scientists have criticised the evidence linking the IAPV to colony collapse, but Dr Goodwin said the circumstantial evidence was "very strong."
It is thought Australia's bee population has stayed healthy despite a suspected infection of IAPV because, unlike New Zealand, Australia does not have the varroa mite to carry the virus from bee to bee.
John Hartnell, chairman of the Federated Farmers Bee Industry Group, said he was lobbying the Government to help fund more research into the causes and cures of CCD.
"We would be better as an industry and as a country to be proactive rather than reactive," he said.
"If the bee was to die off, in five years the world would be a very different place."
Dr Goodwin said it was vital to prepare New Zealand's bee colonies for the virus.
"The answer, really, is to get our bees in good shape before it gets here."
His team of researchers have been working on developing a breed of varroa-resistant bees.
"We don't even have a good solution to varroa, and that's been around for quite a long time now, and it's much easier to treat," he said.
"The symptoms of CCD are severe, and we're not even close to finding a solution."
