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.
Figure 1. Percentage of commercial beekeepers who have completed the 2025 Australian Colony Loss survey nationally.
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 state that have completed the survey is a fraction of the number of commercial beekeepers registered in that state. Nationally, only 3.3% of commercial beekeepers have completed the survey as of this week (Figure 1).
Table 1. Total number of commercial beekeepers in each state and number and percentage of those who have completed the 2025 Australian Colony Loss survey
| State | Total no. commercial beekeepers | No. Commercial beekeepers to complete survey | % Commercial beekeepers to complete survey |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACT | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NSW | 531 | 22 | 4.1% |
| NT | 11 | 0 | 0.0% |
| QLD | 448 | 5 | 1.1% |
| SA | 160 | 5 | 3.1% |
| TAS | 64 | 2 | 3.1% |
| WA | 167 | 13 | 7.8% |
| VIC | 191 | 5 | 2.6% |
| TOTAL | 1574 | 52 | 3.3% |
The 2024 survey revealed some really important trends
The 2024 Australian Colony Loss survey produced data that can immensely benefit the Australian honey bee industry. For example, Australia’s colony loss rate, at 1.55%, is one of the lowest in the world. This shows that as the majority of the country is free of Varroa, we are able to have some of the healthiest bees in the world.
However, the data from NSW shows that Varroa isn’t going anywhere, and will keep making things difficult for Australian beekeepers. NSW beekeepers spent an average of $21 and 23.5 minutes per hive managing Varroa in 2024. For an operation with 1,000 hives, that equates to an extra $21000 and 392 hours of additional labour. Varroa continues to spread, having been detected in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.
These are just a few of the major findings of the 2024 survey – more information is available in the official survey report.
We need to keep it going – but can’t do it without beekeeper support
The above is interesting, but only really useful if we can see how this changes over time and in different parts of the country. And for that, we need beekeepers to complete the 2025 survey as well.
The survey is online, and takes 7-15 minutes to complete. We know it is a busy time of year for beekeepers, and finding the time to sit at a computer and complete the survey isn’t easy. But as the above results show, any commercial beekeeper with a vested interest in the state of the industry will benefit from the data we collect.
So do your part – complete the survey by 1 November and spread the word to anyone you know who hasn’t found the time to complete the survey yet! The future Australian honey bee industry will thank you!
