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Originally Posted by By Laura Chung, 1 July 2022, Sydney Morning Herald

The varroa mite, which is deadly to honey bees, has been detected along the Central Coast as authorities increase the number of beehives set to be destroyed in a bid to control the spread of the parasite.

NSW Department of Primary Industries acting chief plant protection officer Chris Anderson said the agency had established an emergency biosecurity zone around a property in Calga, west of Gosford, which became effective on Thursday.

“Since varroa mite was first identified at the Port of Newcastle last week, NSW DPI has been working with apiary industry bodies and stakeholders to ensure beekeepers are informed and empowered to be part of this critical response,” he said.

“So far many of the [nine] infested premises have been located very close together so the emergency zones covered largely the same areas but recent detections at Bulahdelah [north of Newcastle] and Calga have expanded the area.”


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While the mite only impacts European honeybees, it can carry diseases that would affect native bees, such as the deformed wing virus. In New Zealand, feral honeybee populations plummeted to about 10 per cent of what they were within four years of the mites arriving in 2000.

Bee ecologist from the Waite Research Institute at The University of Adelaide Dr Jay Iwasaki said the mites had most likely hitched a ride to Australia after a colony of bees established a hive on a shipping container boat while it was docked overseas.

He said that, while the mites had been detected in other ports across Australia previously, they had not escaped further into the bee population.

Story here :-
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/s...01-p5ay9y.html