Surveillance

Port surveillance system targets exotic bee pests

17/07/2018 – 1:09 pm Australia has one of the strongest honey bee surveillance program in the world, with 170 closely monitored beehives at 32 ports across Australia providing an early warning system for exotic bee pests and diseases. In the wake of a recent varroa mite detection in an incoming ship to the Port of Melbourne there is a […] Read more

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

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

Keepers urged to be on the lookout for deadly disease

19/10/2017 – 2:25 pm Beekeepers have been urged to look out for discoloured brood and dead larvae, both symptoms of NSW’s most serious brood disease of honey bees, American foulbrood (AFB). The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) today declared October as AFB Awareness Month – a month-long campaign dedicated to educating beekeepers across the state about the fatal and […] Read more

Roosting rainbow bee-eaters needed to find Asian honey bees in Townsville

18/07/2017 – 3:22 pm The National Varroa Mite Eradication Program (NVMEP) is seeking public assistance to locate roosts of rainbow bee-eaters in the Townsville area. The program uses a variety of surveillance methods to detect Asian honey bees, one of which relies on the rainbow bee-eater birds, which occur throughout Townsville. As all beekeepers know, bee-eaters love to eat […] Read more