THE deadly Varroa Mite virus, which destroys honeybee populations is moving closer to the region with six new cases being detected in East Gippsland.
The cases have been identified and reported by apiarists located between Lake Tyers, Buchan and Marlo, and Andy Tiege, President of South Gippsland Beekeepers said it’s only a matter of time until it reaches the local area.
“We know it's coming. We have had several training evenings. Some club members have been to the Vic’ training days. It's just a matter of time before it gets to us.”
“I said all summer, it’s rather like the Phony War in 1938 - we know it's coming, but it's not here yet. It’s pretty devastating, really, but there's absolutely nothing we can do. We've tried to prepare our members as well as we can.”
Australia was free of varroa mite until 2022, when its presence was detected on the New South Wales coast.
It has since moved south, and Agriculture Victoria began to move into a transition to management phase in September 2023.
Because of this, new detections of Varroa have and will continue to occur across the state.
Agriculture Victoria advises all beekeepers to continue to monitor their hives regularly and report both positive and negative inspection results via BeeMAX.
