Published - 28 March 2025 By Professional Beekeepers CoP Varroa mite resources for Australian beekeepers – Essential information and support Varroa mite is a major challenge for Australian beekeepers, but there are plenty of resources to help manage the pest and protect honey bee populations. The … Read More biosecurity, breeding, miticide, training, varroa Agrichemicals, Biosecurity, Breeding, Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Training & resources, Varroa
Published - 11 March 2025 By Nadine Chapman, NSW DPIRD Can Varroa switch between Apis mellifera and Apis cerana? Beekeepers in north Queensland have been familiar with Apis cerana, the Asian hive bee, since it was discovered in Cairns in 2007. There are now … Read More Asian honey bees, European honey bee, host switching, varroa Pests and diseases, Varroa
Published - 4 February 2025 By Michael Holmes, Australian National University Take part in the 2024 Australian Colony Loss Survey! A beekeeper inspects a hive With varroa now established in New South Wales, entering Victoria and slowly but surely spreading across the country, the impacts the … Read More Australian colony loss survey, bee health, varroa Managing your hives, Pests and diseases
Published - 3 February 2025 By Nadine Chapman, NSW DPIRD What do international experts advise on Varroa? Researchers working on the AgriFutures Australia funded project Resilient beekeeping in the face of Varroa surveyed 164 international experts, from across the honey bee and … Read More education, integrated pests management, pollination, varroa Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Varroa
Published - 28 January 2025 By Nadine Chapman and Jody Gerdts Varroa resistance: what trait/s should you focus on? We’re all worried about what varroa means for beekeeping in the future. There is no doubt that things will change. Imagine living with varroa without putting … Read More breeding, resistance, varroa Breeding, Pests and diseases, Plan Bee, Varroa
Published - 9 January 2025 By Michael Holmes and Nadine Chapman How can pollination dependent industries help with varroa? Pollination-dependent industries play an important role in honey bee health. While this may not be directly linked to varroa management, growers can take steps to … Read More nutrition, pests and diseases, pollination Nutrition, Pests and diseases, Pollination, Varroa
Published - 6 January 2025 By Nadine Chapman and Jody Gerdts Naturally varroa surviving populations The Australian Government predicted that 50-60% of beekeepers, mostly recreational and small commercial, would leave the industry should varroa become established in Australian honey bee … Read More Grooming, swarming, uncapping, varroa resistance, varroa sensitive hygiene, virus, VSH Breeding, Pests and diseases, Varroa
Published - 20 December 2024 By Nadine Chapman and Jody Gerdts Varroa resistance: low mite population growth Selecting colonies with low mite population (LMP) or reduced mite population growth (MPG) to breed from will result in decreased mite loads. Measurement is quick … Read More breeding, Pol-line, varroa Breeding, Pests and diseases, Plan Bee, Varroa
Published - 12 December 2024 By Michael Holmes, University of Sydney Chemical treatments for varroa – synthetic or naturally derived? When managing hives that are carrying varroa, it is inevitable that beekeepers will, at some point, have to use chemical treatments. But where possible, treatment … Read More acaricide, miticide, varroa Agrichemicals, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Varroa
Published - 9 December 2024 By Nadine Chapman and Jody Gerdts Varroa resistance: mite non reproduction and varroa sensitive hygiene Mite non reproduction (MNR) or suppressed mite reproduction (SMR) is a suite of traits, and factors, that work together to limit successful mite reproduction. Some … Read More breeding, mite non-reproduction, suppressed mite reproduction, varroa, varroa resistance, varroa sensitive hygiene Breeding, Pests and diseases, Varroa
Published - 27 November 2024 By Nadine Chapman, NSW DPIRD Breeding for virus resistance As worried as we may be of varroa, deformed wing virus (DWV) and other varroa associated viruses are the true killer. Australia doesn’t have DWV … Read More breeding, varroa, virus Breeding, Pests and diseases, Varroa
Published - 20 November 2024 By Emily Remnant, Michael Holmes, John Roberts Varroa and viruses Viruses are common in honey bee colonies but tend to exist as covert infections with only sporadic disease outbreaks. The emergence and global spread of … Read More varroa, virus Biosecurity, Pests and diseases, Varroa
