Valuing over-winter colony losses for New Zealand’s commercial beekeepers

Abstract

The number of managed honeybee colonies in New Zealand has increased dramatically, due largely to increasing high-value mānuka honey exports. Pollination also represents an important part of the apicultural sector, providing critical services to the horticultural and arable crop industries. A survey of winter colony losses has been conducted annually since 2015. Using data from the 2021 wave of the survey, we derive a model to estimate the financial cost of winter colony loss to New Zealand commercial beekeepers in that year. We estimate that winter colony losses conservatively cost commercial beekeepers $24,181,835 in 2021, which amounts to $38.04 per managed colony. This equates to 9.2% of the value of honey yields for commercial beekeepers who produce honey and between 10.6% and 60.5% of the value of contracts for beekeepers who provide pollination services. These substantial costs pose a risk to the profitability of beekeeping.