Pests

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

Redoubling Australia’s bee protection efforts

19/05/2017 – 3:15 pm The nation’s busiest pollinators have received a boost after the official launch a multi-faceted effort to maintain the health of Australia’s bees along with the country’s $1.8 billion pollination-reliant horticulture and grain industries. Horticulture Innovation Australia, the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council and Grain Producers Australia have joined forces to deliver a $3M program that […] Read more

Online training brings beekeepers up to standard

28/04/2017 – 9:43 am A new online training course was launched by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) and Plant Health Australia this week, to make it easy for beekeepers to find out how to care for honey bees in accordance with the new Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice. The Biosecurity for Beekeepers course explains […] Read more