VICTORIA’S most important beehives need to be strong and healthy to play their part as our first line of defence against exotic bee pests and diseases.

Agriculture Victoria bee biosecurity officer, Ally Driessen said there were 20 sentinel hives at four Victorian ports – Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings, and Portland.

“Our sentinel hives are monitored every six weeks as part of a national program aimed at providing an early alert system to pests such as Varroa mite entering Australia,” she said.

“As part of our bee husbandry, hives are checked and if required re-queened.

“The queen bee is vital to the hive and it’s important that she is healthy and productive.”

Ms Driessen said if a new queen bee is required, they are sourced from a variety of breeders around Victoria.

“If a pest was to enter Australia, ports are one of the most likely places with bees arriving on ships,” she said.

“Having hives at these sites helps us know very early on and hopefully stop them spreading.”

Ms Driessen said as well as the sentinel hives, the Honeybee Pest Warrior program was mobilising more than 600 beekeepers who live within a five-kilometre radius of ports.

“There is a whole community of beekeepers who live close to ports and are very aware of the health of their hives, they know when something isn’t right, and we have engaged them to be our eyes and ears as well,” she said.

“When there was an incursion of Varroa mite in Victoria in 2018, they were some of the first people we visited to help us confirm what we were dealing with and they helped spread key information to beekeepers across the state.”

Ms Driessen said as part of the Honeybee Pest Warrior program, beekeepers are asked to complete a sugar shake and a drone uncapping, which is a key tool in helping review the health of a beehive.

“Recording negative results are just as important as positive detections, as they help us to prove ongoing freedom of exotic bee pests in Victoria,” she said.  

More about beekeeping can be found at beeaware.org.au.