However, the apiculture industry is generally well prepared for hive losses and Transition To Management

VICTORIA’S commercial beekeepers who pollinate the majority of the state’s intensive agricultural crops from almonds to cherries, apples and many other orchard or field grown horticultural crops are generally well prepared for the entry of Varroa mite into Victoria within the next few months.

Beekeeping is a $360 Million Plus Industry for Victoria in terms of honey and hive products and the value of pollination services.

 One in three food products we eat are pollinated by honey bees (Apis Mellifera).

 Many of Victoria’s beekeepers attended the well supported Victorian Apiarist’s Association (VAA) annual conference held in Wonthaggi last week which had the title - Beekeeping With Varroa - A New Frontier.

Delegates heard that the Varroa mite, (or Varroa destructor) is yet to enter the State as specialists from Agriculture Victoria advised that the twelve sentinel hives sited at six locations along the River Murray are still recording a nil mite count, notwithstanding that the Varroa mite is evident around Balranald in NSW.

The destructive mite has steadily moved south since its detection around Newcastle and Kempsey in February 2022.

VAA president John van Weeghel said that all aspects of the beekeeping industry were engaged in a Transition to Management industry plan.

“Australia is perhaps fortunate that we are the last major country to receive the mite (which kills significant numbers of bees by feasting on their body fat and breeding profusely in hives) so we are able to draw on the management experiences in New Zealand, the USA, the UK, and in many Scandinavian and European countries which have dealt and are still dealing with infestations of the mite, in many cases for over twenty years.”

It is the experience that feral hives (those inhabiting large tree cavities) will be severely hit, as they have no management or natural response, when the mites arrive in Victoria.

“Feral bee hives provide a lot of pollination services for many farm enterprises and home gardens, so their loss to the mite, is likely to have significant impact.

Beekeepers have a number of solutions available, largely due to better hive management and the application of a number of miticide products which are likely to become available for use immediately that an infestation situation is declared for Victoria.

Used correctly, the miticides, both organic or inorganic, do not affect honey or wax quality.

Mr van Weeghel noted that larger beekeepers including many who operated more than a thousand hives for pollination and honey production were expecting to lose significant numbers of their hives.

“Simply careful management with regular hive surveillance and to gain personal knowledge about the mite and its controls are the best solutions for beekeepers before its arrival in Victoria,” he said.

However, it is still of major concern for all beekeepers as it is a major issue for the apiculture industry.

The three-day VAA conference heard presentations by Zoom from three notable industry scientists and bee experts in the USA and two from simitar experts in New Zealand.

A number of Victoria’s approximately 300 large scale commercial beekeepers have over recent years made personal visits to beekeepers in the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Greece and Scandinavian countries to learn of Varroa management practices employed in those locations.

“This information is readily shared around the apiculture industry and is of significant value to all beekeepers.” Mr van Weeghel said.