This month's Varroa incursion at a beekeeper's Yarram property in South Gippsland is believed to be the first outbreak in the state to be reported for recreational hives, raising serious concerns as to how the mite arrived in the local area.
The general consensus among those involved in the industry is that dealing with the threat of Varroa is not a matter of if but when.
Commenting on the latest discovery of Varroa in his part of the state, vice president of South Gippsland Beekeepers Inc and vice president of the Gippsland Apiarists Association (GAA), Peter Gatehouse is a passionate advocate for the industry and managing hives to deal with the potential for infestation.
As well as running his own business Hill Top Hives in Mirboo North, Mr Gatehouse, is well aware of the seriousness of the impact of Varroa on commercial and recreational beekeepers.
“The one detection at a property in South Gippsland at Yarram appears to be recreational while the north west and central cluster (in Victoria) are all commercial operators,” Mr Gatehouse said.
Latest Stories
“It is a concern that Varroa could actually be in the wild bee population because feral colonies cannot be controlled,” he said.
“It is spreading on its own or coming in on a truck from interstate”.
The presence of feral or unmanaged hives could create a source of constant re-infestation, he added.
Hence, the need for all beekeepers to be proactive in regular monitoring of their hives for any signs of Varroa activity and increases in the level of mites.
“The Yarram detection is a good example of being active in monitoring, it was a huge favour to other beekeepers,” said Mr Gatehouse.
“The mites bites the bee and leaves a wound that doesn’t heal which allows the potential for virus to enter the hive”.
While Varroa has entered Australia the extremely worrying deformed wing version of the virus has not been found in this country.
“We are in the build-up stage,” said Mr Gatehouse.
He believes that Varroa will become widespread across the state in the next three to five years reinforcing the need for beekeepers to be vigilant to minimise the impact.
“A critical thing to be proactive and make sure you know how to monitor for mite levels in your hives,” he said.
Managing hives is vital because they can collapse and bees die in a short time.
“In NSW it was within three to four months from the first detection,” Mr Gatehouse said.
At a bare minimum as part of an integrated pest control management plan, beekeepers should be conducting alcohol washing every four weeks to check for any presence of the Varroa mite.
Another method is the use of drone capping.
As a beekeeper himself, he acknowledges the challenges for others during this difficult and uncertain period.
“Beekeepers have a choice to stay or leave, there is no shame if they think this is not for me,” he said.
Some may decide to reduce the number of hives to reduce the workload regular monitoring involves.
Agriculture Victoria has provided various resources including the online BeeMAX which provides a map of areas with Varroa detections.
“BeeMAX can be used as a ‘cultural control’.
“It relies on beekeepers reporting when they detect Varroa so all beekeepers if they move their hives can make informed decisions in where to move them,” said Mr Gatehouse.
According to the AgVic website it maps the number of inspection events in a particular area (not hive numbers).
“An inspection event consists of a Varroa mite check carried out within an apiary of any size”.
Mr Gatehouse recently attended a two day event in Maryborough hosted by the Central Victorian Apiarists Association (CVAA) which provided networking, open discussion, practical hands on demonstrations, and industry updates.
The two forums run on the first day covered breeding queen bees to be Varroa tolerant, and the other looked at integrated pest management (IPM).
The following day 22 August was CVAA’s 60th annual conference where keynote speaker Frank Lindsay from New Zealand spoke about the challenges they faced initially and what they've learnt over the course of 20 years of living with Varroa.
With Varroa on our doorstep, the Varroa-mite incursion is being described as a biosecurity warning by the principal of AgSecure and a senior fellow at Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Andrew Henderson, in an article published 19 August in response to a recent report released by Rabobank.
Referencing the report “How Varroa mites might impact Australian pollinators”, the article shared the New Zealand and Canadian experiences of around an eight per cent decline in hive numbers within four to five years of Varroa mite outbreaks.
The need for action on our own shores and particularly here in Victoria, reinforces the need for more industry support not less.
Mr Gatehouse is seriously concerned when the AgVic contracts of 12 development officers which includes two full time positions, and 10 part-time roles finish in November what will happen in providing support and surveillance to beekeepers across the state.
Meanwhile beekeepers are urged to have a plan in place to deal with the inevitable situation of living with Varroa.
