This beehive infestation was first identified in the Western Cape in 2008 and it has now raised its ugly head again. The extremely rapid spread of the disease makes it almost certain that honey farmers' hives in Knysna and surrounds are already infected, a fact that has caused alarm among local beekeepers.
The practice of transporting bees across vast areas for pollination purposes compounds the threat to Garden Route hives. (South Africa had been free of the disease for longer than a century prior to 2008.)
Riaan van Zyl of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries expressed his dire concern that AFB spores can spread at an alarming rate throughout the Southern Cape. He confirmed that the disease has already been found in hives in the Oudtshoorn and Albertinia areas. Since bees are often transported from those areas to local farms, beekeepers must be forewarned of the possibility that their hives could be infected. He emphasised that local beekeepers should act now if they want to avoid being caught off guard by a situation out of their control.
Owen Williams of Honeychild (South Africa's first beekeeping conservation enterprise) near Rheenendal warns, "This disease will wipe out not only your own honeybees but also the entire feral population (breeding stock and genetic pool) which help us to populate our hives and grow our apiaries, unless we know how to identify it early and take drastic action to curtail it."
The concern in the cooperative bee and honey farming industry is huge. "If this bacterium spreads, it can mean the end of bee-farming for about 200 serious honey farmers in the Southern Cape and Garden Route," Williams says.
In an urgent effort to address and curb the wild spread of AFB locally, two scientists with vast knowledge and experience in all matters related to bees will visit the Garden Route this weekend. On Saturday, September 27, Mike Allsopp of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and Van Zyl will meet with interested parties to present beekeepers with the theoretical and practical knowledge and know-how essential for the health of beehives. To address this matter effectively, it is imperative that all beekeepers, formal and informal, attend the meeting at Red Barn Restaurant on the Rheenendal Road at 11:00.
"As beekeepers and custodians of the unique Cape honeybee we have a duty to protect and look after her, especially if we hope to have honey in the future," says Williams.
The Red Barn Restaurant, usually closed during this time of the year, will open for the purposes of this extremely important meeting, subject to sufficient interest. A light tapas style lunch, for your own account, will be offered. To confirm attendance, contact Williams at 078 724 6425 as soon as possible to allow timeous arrangements.
While AFB poses no health risks to humans, it is exceedingly hazardous to bees, wild and farmed, and as a result all plants and crops dependent on bees for pollination.
Bees on an arum lily at Honeychild, Rheenendal.
ARTICLE: CHRISTO VERMAAK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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