New Zealand beekeeper Barry Foster still remembers vividly when the varroa mite hit Auckland just after the turn of the millennium. 7NEWS
New Zealand beekeeper Barry Foster still remembers vividly when the varroa mite hit Auckland just after the turn of the millennium.
In NSW, beekeepers have been repeatedly asked to volunteer the locations of their hives, whether registered or not. NSW beekeepers have been stopped from tending or moving their hives, just as they were in New Zealand, but Mr Foster says the measure only slowed the spread of the mite without halting it.
"We haven't seen something that's out of control yet. Containment is happening, and all the good measures are in place. One thing working in Australia's favour is that the current incursion has occurred in winter, when there's little to no swarming activity. Major impacts have included lower crop yields, increased reliance on fertilisers to offset the effects of reduced pollination, and bigger bills for farmers who pay for hives to be brought in to pollinate their crops.
What's really at stake is how costly and difficult things will be with the mite doing its best to take out colonies.
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