Surveillance

  • Bee biosecurity code of practice

    12/10/2016 – 1:24 pm The secret to being a good beekeeper Currently Australia is free of many serious honey bee pests that damage the health of European honey bees overseas. According to Alison Saunders, National Manager for Horticultural Cropping at Plant Health Australia, exotic pests such as varroa, tropilaelaps or tracheal mites are a constant threat. “As bad as […] Read more
  • Response team make a bee-line to Asian honey bee nest

    12/09/2016 – 12:00 pm Another Asian honey bee nest has been found in the Hyde Park area of Townsville, but there were no varroa mites on the bees or in the nest. Biosecurity Queensland Varroa Mite Response Coordinator Dr Ashley Bunce said this latest nest was located in the eaves of a house that backed on to the property […] Read more
  • Asian honey bees found in wine barrel

    16/08/2016 – 1:45 pm A wine barrel used as a table on a Hyde Park family’s verandah has been revealed as the latest home for Asian honey bees in Townsville. Biosecurity Queensland officers working on the Varroa mite eradication response were alerted by the home owner last week, after she noticed bees entering a small hole at the side […] Read more
  • More Asian honey bees detected in Townsville

    09/08/2016 – 11:13 am Biosecurity Queensland has not found any varroa mites on a new swarm of Asian honey bees which were collected at Hyde Park on Friday. Dr Ashley Bunce, Director, Varroa Mite Response said this detection came about thanks to a call from a member of the public. “It’s great that the Townsville community is being so […] Read more
  • Bee hunters take to streets

    28/07/2016 – 12:47 pm A small army of bee hunters has taken to the streets of Townsville searching for any signs of Asian honey bees, the hosts of the parasitic varroa mite. Varroa Mite Response director Ashley Bunce said Biosecurity Queensland was leading the eradication effort with support from industry following the discovery of varroa mites in a nest […] Read more