Science – Niue Island bee sanctuary

Most people have a particular place that is special for them personally because of its unique location and its people, and because it gives us a deep sense of equilibrium. In te reo, this is often given the name turangawaewae. For Niueans, the island must surely reflect the same deep sense of identity and independence associated with it being a home base. Niue is also a very special place for me. It is a small uplifted coral island in a remote part of the South Pacific and is adjacent to the great blue marine depths of the Tongan trench. Gazing out from the high coastal cliffs of Niue in any direction, and at any of the distant horizons, one sees nothing but ocean. Niue is about 2500 kms from Auckland and has a small resident population of only about 1600.

Niue has several unique features that make it a joy to visit and one of these is its honeybees. Niue honey is said to be exceptionally pure because of the island’s isolation and because of the unusual history of its beehives. The last few years have been devastating for honeybees around the world, with half of the global population lost due to a cluster of disorders known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). This cluster includes not only the impact of the notorious varroa mite, but also a number of other diseases and parasites compounded by pervasive pesticide sprays.

Niue is believed to be the last home on earth of disease-free and parasite-free Italian honey-bee (Apis mellifora ligustica) which is the cornerstone of global pollination. These bees were introduced to Niue from Aotearoa NZ in the 1960s, which fortunately was before the arrival of many deadly introduced diseases and parasites. Andy Cory, a leading Pacific apiarist, was appointed in 1999 to restore the original Niue hives which, after a long period of neglect, had become overgrown. Despite this background, the Niue bees had survived extremely well and Cory was able to restore both the colonies and the hives. However, in 2004, the wind and salt spray from a major cyclone destroyed most of the hives and also pollinating trees. Despite this setback, Cory was able to recover the situation and to increase the number of hives to about 3000.

The Niue Bee Sanctuary project is supported by the Niuean Government, the World Trade Organisation and the Standards and Trade Development Facility. It is similar in some ways to the Norway Global Seed Vault and in other ways to the remediation of endangered bird species on offshore islands in NZ Aotearoa. A similar bee reservation project on Kangaroo Island in Australia, involving more than one bee subspecies, has been threatened by recent extreme bush fires. The Niue Bee Sanctuary is also committed to building bee numbers on other suitable Pacific islands as an additional insurance policy. In doing this, it will help other islands increase their horticultural productivity.