Pests and diseases

The Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice (the Code) was revised in late 2025 to reflect the establishment of Varroa destructor in parts of Australia. This summary outlines what beekeepers must do to be compliant. Where the Code has been legislated in your state or territory, Part B is compulsory for all beekeepers. Part C adds extra compulsory ...

The 2025 Australian Colony Loss survey is closing soon. There are now less than two weeks for beekeepers to get their responses in before the survey closes on 1 November 2025. Unfortunately, participation rates for the current survey are lower than expected. As evidenced in Table 1, the number of commercial beekeepers (those with 50 hives or more) in each ...

Bee nests are more than just homes for bees – they’re vibrant microbial ecosystems. The bacteria and fungi living in bee nests, bee bodies, and their food play essential roles in nutrition, disease resistance and overall colony health. When bees gather nectar and pollen, they also pick up microbes from flowers, soil, and water. These microbes end up in the ...

The National Varroa Mite Management Program has gathered a collection of case studies sharing real experiences from beekeepers across Australia as they manage the impacts of Varroa mite.  These stories, while anecdotal and not formal research, provide an honest look at what both recreational and commercial beekeepers — and Varroa Development Officers — have seen firsthand. They aim to help ...

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 AgriFutures Australia Varroa Destructor Research Strategy (2024-2027) outlines the plan for future research, while the National Honey Bee Breeding Strategy offers guidance on strengthening bee populations. The National Varroa Mite Management Program offers a ...

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 concerns that Varroa destructor (Varroa) will be able to switch back and forth between A. cerana and A. mellifera (the Western honey bee, often referred to as the European honey bee). If this is the ...

With varroa now established in New South Wales, entering Victoria and slowly but surely spreading across the country, the impacts the pest is having on beekeeping businesses are being felt. With more and more new detections cropping up each week, some of the questions on beekeepers’ minds may include: Just how much of an impact will varroa have on my ...

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 pollination industry, seeking advice on varroa. Experts included beekeepers, researchers, apiary officers, and policy analysts from 21 countries around the world (Figure 1). Key findings The key findings are outlined below. Education is the most ...

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 chemicals into hives that can harm bees, honey, wax, people, and beekeepers’ wallets. Through breeding, this can be a reality. Honey bees have natural defences to keep varroa populations below economic thresholds before chemical ...

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 improve the health of the bees on their properties. This will in turn make these colonies and the honey bee industry as a whole more resilient to varroa. If varroa results in the loss of ...

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 colonies, and that there would be a small decrease (less than 5%) in the number of hives kept by large commercial beekeepers. Based on data from the United States and Europe they predicted that 95—100% ...

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 and simple to perform and will be part of every beekeepers’ toolkit: alcohol or soapy water washes. Selecting for low infestation will promote all traits that keep varroa populations low, even those that we do ...