It will be an anxious few weeks for beekeepers and the billion-dollar Australian almond industry after a varroa mite outbreak in New South Wales put Australia's annual almond pollination program at risk.
Almost 300,000 bee hives are needed for almond pollination in the next four weeks, making it the largest movement of livestock in Australia.
But on Sunday, an emergency order was put in place preventing the movement of bees in New South Wales due to the discovery of varroa mite at the Port of Newcastle.
The Varroa destructor mite transmits numerous viruses, and feeds and reproduces on honey bee larvae and pupae (bees transitioning between larvae and adults), leading to malformations.
Almond Board of Australia chief executive Tim Jackson said a pollination working group was on stand-by in case the situation escalated.
"We're hoping that this measure of a standstill for the next five to seven days will allow New South Wales authorities to get on top of and contain the varroa mite infestation.
"Then there'll be no need for the working group as these will be able to be transported to the orchard through the three states."
Pollination on hold
The ban on bee movements in NSW has put Rex Carruthers' plans on hold.
The Sunshine Coast apiarist earns a living from providing professional pollination services to almond orchards in Victoria, and had planned to begin stage one of a 2,000 kilometre journey next week, stopping at a canola crop in Nyngan.
He hopes authorities would not limit eradication of honey bee hives in the Newcastle area to commercial and recreational apiarists' hives, but consider options for tackling feral bees in surrounding bushland.
"We've got to eliminate any colonies. Anywhere the varroa mite can live, must be removed," he said.
"There has been some really good solid research done on what we call remote poisoning.
"There are large populations of feral colonies [living in tree hollows] and, in my personal opinion, we might have to put in place remote poisoning."
Mr Carruthers said varroa mites move by hopping on and off bees as they land on flowers.
Beekeepers on alert
Bee broker and pollination specialist Trevor Monson said the controls being put in place in NSW preventing all bee movement were "an absolute must".
But he hoped it would not be a long-term measure because there were a lot of crops due to be pollinated in the next few months.
"Currently blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, avocados, and very soon macadamias, all need to have bees to pollinate them and the almond industry [pollination] is four weeks away."
Mr Monson was initially nervous about the incursion but was happy with the way government and industry had handled the outbreak.
But he said it was yet another challenge for beekeepers to deal with.
"We thought we'd seen it all with floods and fires and COVID … but Mother Nature has another trial [for the industry]," Mr Monson said.
"There will be beekeepers that choose not to go to almond pollination this year because of their nervousness … and some will leave the industry.
"But if beekeepers follow the rules … there’s a fair possibility the plans we have in place will work."
