Australia is racing to protect honey bees after the discovery of a mite that has ravaged hives around the world sparked fears for the pollinators crucial to the country’s A$83 billion agricultural industry.
Biosecurity officials in New South Wales, the most populous state, have imposed a bee lockdown following the detection of the Varroa destructor mite at the Port of Newcastle on Friday. The incursion threatens Australia’s status as the only major honey producer to have avoided establishment of the deadly pest, which has been blamed together with the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides for colony collapse in the US.around the port while no bees are allowed to be moved across the state.
“If varroa mite settles in the state, it will have severe consequences, so we’re taking every precaution and action needed to contain the parasite and protect the local honey industry and pollination,” New South Wales Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said. with the varroa mite cause a range of maladies among European honey bees that weaken and reduce populations, leading to colony death. The parasite does not affect smaller, stingless native bees. Australia also exports European honey bees, including to Canada – where agricultural producers are