Professional Beekeepers

Have your say on beekeeper education

2026-06-04T10:50:50+10:00Training & resources|

The cost-shared Varroa Transition to Management (T2M) program will be winding up over the next few months. Beekeepers will continue to be supported via their state or territory departments. The education needs of beekeepers are likely to vary based on: their experience presence of Varroa size of their operation, and their hive products and services. T2M is running a survey to assess the education needs of different sectors of the beekeeping industry. This information will be provided to state departments to help them support you better. Have your say! The survey is non-identifiable and voluntary. It takes only a couple of minutes to complete. Please share your views on which resources will make a difference to you at Post T2M [...]

Real Beekeeper Stories: Varroa Mite Case Studies

2025-07-17T14:11:47+10:00Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Training & resources, Varroa|

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 beekeepers understand what they might face and how others are adapting, though every situation will be different.  Beyond the Hive is a series of video case studies where commercial beekeepers speak openly about discovering Varroa, the changes they’ve made to their operations, hive losses, lessons learnt and how they see the future of beekeeping.  Case studies Explore the case studies [...]

Varroa mite resources for Australian beekeepers – Essential information and support

2025-04-14T09:45:02+10:00Agrichemicals, Biosecurity, Breeding, Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Training & resources, Varroa|

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 comprehensive framework for managing the mite, including pest control strategies and biosecurity guidelines. The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) has made available a Varroa Chemical Treatment Table that lists approved treatments, as well as critical information on Withholding Periods to ensure safe use of chemicals. For practical advice, AHBIC podcasts and interviews offer insights from industry experts, while the [...]

Can Varroa switch between Apis mellifera and Apis cerana?

2025-03-11T12:25:42+11:00Pests and diseases, Varroa|

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 case then A. cerana may drive high mite loads in managed A. mellifera colonies, as the Varroa population has more hosts on which to reproduce and any colonies that break down with high mite loads will become ‘mite bombs’, spreading Varroa to surrounding colonies of both species.   However, there are several points to keep in mind:  Varroa typically only reproduces [...]

Non-chemical varroa control methods

2025-02-25T16:26:08+11:00Varroa|

June 2022 will surely stay in the minds of many Australian beekeepers, as it drastically changed beekeeping, especially in New South Wales. With the incursion of Varroa destructor (hereafter varroa) in Newcastle, beekeepers must now monitor and find new ways to protect their hives to manage varroa loads. Varroa is the most serious pest of the Western (European) honey bee, feeding on the fat bodies of bee larvae, which have a function similar to the liver in humans. It is difficult to spot the mites with the naked eye, as it is highly adept at concealing itself on adult bees. In other parts of the world, beekeepers have been managing varroa for decades. However, Australia’s beekeeping conditions are unique and [...]

How does Varroa spread between hives, and what can we do about it?

2025-02-24T15:04:23+11:00Biosecurity, Code of Practice, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Varroa|

While we are hoping for a successful eradication of Varroa in New South Wales, beekeepers should prepare for the possibility of living with the pest. By following some simple biosecurity procedures, beekeepers can prevent or delay Varroa from infesting their apiaries. How does Varroa spread? To understand what biosecurity measures are required to limit the spread of Varroa, we must first understand how Varroa spreads in the first place (Figure 1). Figure 1. How Varroa spreads within and between apiaries. The yellow hive is the first hive to be infested with Varroa. Varroa spreads to other hives in the apiary via bee drift or the beekeeper moving infested frames of bees to other colonies (orange arrows). The yellow colony [...]

Varroa management workshops

2025-02-24T15:04:03+11:00Biosecurity, Pests and diseases, Training & resources, Varroa|

Currently New South Wales is the only state to have detected Varroa. Eastern seaboard states are expecting to find it in the near future, while some states and territories are hoping to keep it at bay for many years. No matter where your state is in the journey, education is key.  For states hoping to keep it at bay, a better understanding of the repercussions of having Varroa will be important to deterrence. Their actions have a role in keeping Varroa out and early detection will potentially allow measures to prevent the spread of Varroa further into the state. Many New South Wales beekeepers are currently managing Varroa, or educating themselves for its arrival in their hives as it spreads [...]

What does Varroa look like?

2025-02-24T15:03:53+11:00Biosecurity, Pests and diseases, Varroa|

You probably already have a good idea of what a Varroa mite looks like, even if you have never seen a hive with Varroa before. Based on photographs (Figure 1), you might expect to see a few tan/brown, hairy, oval-shaped attachments crawling on top of the bodies of worker bees. However, these images can be misleading; Varroa can be extremely difficult to identify by eye inside the hive, and might easily go unnoticed when infestation levels are low. Figure 1. Mark Moffett / Minden Pictures Figure 2. Mites are clearly visible to the human eye. Photo: Vincent Dietemann. Mites are just over 1 millimetre in size - about the same size as a poppy seed. Considering [...]

Integrated pest management for Varroa

2025-02-24T15:03:46+11:00Agrichemicals, Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Varroa|

With Varroa now on our shores, Australian beekeepers have a steep learning curve to understand how to live with the mite. Fortunately, beekeepers worldwide have been living with Varroa for decades, there are many treatment and management strategies that can help beekeeping businesses to continue to flourish. As with all pest management, it’s important industry and government recommendations are followed, ensuring an approach that will be of the greatest benefit to Australia's honey bee industry. Implementing  integrated pest management (IPM) strategies from the very beginning will ensure beekeepers maximise bee health while minimising the impact of Varroa. IPM is a sustainable approach to pest management that aims to reduces costs, labour, effects on bees, and residues in hive products, allowing [...]

Chemical free management of Varroa: brood breaks and drone trapping

2025-02-24T15:03:40+11:00Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Varroa|

Many beekeepers will be wondering how to best manage varroa in their hives. A well equipped Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tool kit will comprise of cultural and chemical measures to be employed based on colony infestation thresholds. While chemicals are useful in certain situations, such as high mite loads that are a product of natural population growth, or to prevent re-infestation from other colonies in the area, long term varroa control isn’t limited to pesticides. In fact, there are several beekeeping techniques that, if employed regularly, can help keep mite populations below a lethal level. With a bit of practice, these techniques can become a part of a beekeeper’s usual routine. The mite spends most of its life within brood [...]

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