The NSW government's baiting program to kill wild European honeybees with a pesticide is set to begin in Newcastle.
The Department of Primary Industries made the announcement on Tuesday, amid its bid to eradicate the deadly varroa mite.
It came after a new detection of the mite at Vacy in Dungog Shire, bringing the total number of infected premises to 107 since the parasite was first detected at the Port of Newcastle in June.
"Wild European honeybees, which are the same species as honeybees kept in managed hives, build their nests in tree hollows and other enclosed spaces," said Dr Satendra Kumar, a department official.
"Removing these bees from the environment [in the emergency zones] is necessary to reduce any chance of the varroa mite parasite existing undetected."
The department will use the toxic pesticide fipronil to eradicate the honeybees.
The Australian Native Bee Association said the baiting of wild honeybees would put native stingless bees at risk of poisoning for up to three years.
The department disputes this, saying the poison-laced sugar syrup used in the baiting "has been found not to attract native bees".
"There will be poisonous honey left behind, even though the bees have been killed," said Dani Lloyd-Prichard, a bee expert with the association.
"It will be there for other insects and animals to raid and consume. If our stingless bees go to those dead hives and consume that poison-laced honey, they'll die."
Dr Kumar said the baiting program has been developed with guidelines to "protect and ensure the safety of all people, animals, livestock and the local environment".
"NSW DPI has been authorised by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to use fipronil to remove wild European honeybees."
The bees take the poison from the feeder stations back to their hives.
"The wild European honeybee feeder stations are designed to exclude other animals and insects, and to prevent contamination of soil and water," Dr Kumar said
"Feeder stations will remain in place for up to 12 months, but only in active use with insecticide for very short periods of time to a maximum of 3 hours each session.
"During active use, feeder stations will be monitored by trained staff, to minimise the risk of off-target impacts. Experience to date has shown zero feeding in stations by off target species."
However, the association is concerned that no monitoring will be done of the "dead hives".
It said such monitoring would be a massive but not impossible task.
Aside from the baiting program, the department has already euthanised an enormous number of bees on people's properties.
- Earlier
A FRESH detection of the insidious varroa mite has taken the total number of properties infected with the parasite to 107 since it was first found at Port of Newcastle in June.
Tracing and surveillance work found the Vacy outbreak, which NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) chief plant protection officer Satendra Kumar said would require expansion of the eradication zone and a new emergency order.
Tracing is underway to find any possible links to the case and ensure at-risk premises are identified and surveyed.
"NSW DPI is putting significant resources into surveillance across the purple zones, which surround the red zones, and finding new mites through this phase is not unexpected," Mr Kumar said.
"This latest detection demonstrates the importance of the surveillance within the purple zones in order to delimit the spread of varroa mite and we remain confident in containment.
"Surveillance across these zones is a priority for the response and our teams have tested close to 12,000 hives as part of this and more than 30,000 hives state-wide."
All beekeepers are now required to undertake mandatory alcohol washes at least every 16 weeks. They must report the results to the state government by calling 1800 084 881 or filling in an online form.
"Achieving the goal of eradication is a shared responsibility between NSW DPI, industry and the community and I would like thank all those supporting this through what we know is a difficult time for many people." Dr Kumar said.
