Feral bees targeted in war on varroa mite

Wild honey bees within the NSW varroa mite containment zone will be killed as the state moves into the next phase of its eradication plan.

Beekeepers examine hives and take bee samples for testing, near Paterson, NSW Central Coast. Picture: Nick Cubbin

Wild honey bees within the NSW varroa mite containment zone will be killed as the state moves into the next phase of its eradication plan.

The NSW government is confident in its ability to stop the spread of the bee-killing mite, which was detected at the Port of Newcastle in June, and to be the first jurisdiction to exterminate it completely.

So far, the government’s focus has been on destroying domestic bee hives within the containment zone in the mid-north NSW coast. It will next week begin targeting feral hives.

“The NSW government remains confident we will be able to eradicate varroa mite,” Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said. “If we are successful, we’ll be the first jurisdiction in the world to do so.

“Efforts to euthanise hives in the red eradication zones in NSW as are continuing quickly as possible. To date, approximately 70 per cent of hives in the red zones have been euthanised.

“This equates to more than 12,000 hives.”

Bait stations will be set up from next week in the eradication zone in the Hunter Region to poison wild bees with the insecticide fip­ronil.

NSW Department of Primary Industries chief plant protection officer Satendra Kumar said the bait stations would be kept at least 2km from the outer edge of the eradication zone to prevent attracting bees from outside the zone.

“Wild European honey bees, which are the same species as honeybees kept in managed hives, build their nests in tree hollows and enclosed spaces,” Dr Kumar said. “Removing these bees from the environment of red zones is necessary to reduce any chance of the varroa mite parasite existing undetected within wild hives.”

The bait stations, designed to exclude other animals and insects, will remain in place for up to 12 months, but will be actively loaded with insecticide for only short periods.

Beekeepers within the red eradication zones have been compensated for destruction of their hives.

No new mite detections have been reported since September 18.

A team of scientists is still working to crack the DNA of the varroa mite infestation to determine where the origin of the outbreak. “We are continuing to investigate how varroa entered NSW, but it’s an extremely intensive process,” Mr Saunders said. “For context, the varroa mite genome is 13,000 times the size of Covid, so sequencing presents a significant amount of work for DPI scientists.

“We expect this process to continue on for several weeks, maybe months.”

The mite, which weakens and destroys beehives, is threatening the future of Australia’s beekeeping industry.