Media Releases

Help us stop varroa mite in its tracks

09/07/2018 – 4:07 pm Agriculture Victoria is urging anyone with unregistered or feral bee hives within a surveillance zone around the Port of Melbourne to contact them. The surveillance zone was established following a detection of varroa mite at the Port last week. Acting Chief Plant Health Officer Nigel Ainsworth said Agriculture Victoria is currently undertaking precautionary surveillance of […] Read more

Science throws honey researchers a curve ball on hunt for bioactivity secrets

30/05/2018 – 12:33 pm A research project screening Western Australian honey for bioactivity traits that could support health products is uncovering some surprising results. As part of an AgriFutures™ Honey Bee and Pollination Program supported project, researchers from the University of Western Australia, together with the Cooperative Research Centre for Honey Bee Products, are analysing honeys that are native […] Read more

Regulation changes for honey bee industry align with best practice

30/04/2018 – 4:12 pm The South Australian honeybee industry is set to follow the latest in biosecurity best practice with changes to the Livestock Regulations 2013 to take effect this month (April). The amendments which come into effect on Thursday 19 April align with the Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice, which has been endorsed nationally and […] Read more

The ‘bee’ all and end all: the importance of rapid hygienic behavior testing in bees

14/12/2017 – 2:20 pm In the latest best practice video developed by the Honey Bee & Pollination Program, one of Australia’s most respected apiarists has encouraged honey producers to adopt rapid hygienic behavior testing in an effort to limit pest and disease incursions. In the fifth episode in the series, Lindsay Bourke from Australian Honey Products in Launceston, Tasmania, […] Read more

Townsville residents asked to report unusual bee activity

07/12/2017 – 8:37 am Biosecurity Queensland is asking Townsville residents to keep reporting unusual bees and unmanaged bee colonies. Public assistance is an essential part of the hunt for varroa mite, which was first detected in an Asian honey bee nest at the Port of Townsville in June 2016. “We have had excellent support from local beekeepers and the […] Read more