THE Victorian Government has enlisted the support of urban beekeepers to protect the Australian honey and pollination industries from foreign pests and disease invasion.
Visiting Footscray, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh announced Bee Force, a new pilot project to improve Victoria’s capacity to detect incursions of varroa mite and other exotic bee pests.
“Under this pilot, 10 volunteer urban beekeepers close to the Port of Melbourne will be supplied with extra hives to complement a national program of early detection for varroa mite and other bee pests,” Mr Walsh said.
“Australia remains the only country in the world free of varroa mite, which has the potential to devastate the nation’s $90 million-a-year honey industry if it ever reaches our shores.
“This pilot is focused around the Port of Melbourne, because we know shipping ports are a high risk for the entry of exotic bee pests.
“A number of sentinel hives have already been set up in the Port of Melbourne and the Bee Force project will increase our ability to quickly detect the arrival of varroa or other exotic bee pests.”
Mr Walsh said varroa mite had the potential to severely affect Australia’s food security if it entered Australia.
“The honeybee industry is at the heart of Victoria’s agricultural and horticultural food production and plays a critical role in the pollination of food crops,” Mr Walsh said.
“It is estimated that each year the industry makes a direct contribution of between $4 billion and $6 billion to agricultural production nationally.
“The estimated cost to the Australian honey and pollination industries of varroa or similar pests arriving here could be as high as $50 million a year over 30 years.
“The Bee Force project has an important role to play in strengthening our early warning capabilities.”
Mr Walsh said the Bee Force pilot was part of the Pollination Program, a strategy jointly funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and Horticulture Australian Limited (HAL) and managed on the ground by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI).
Essential work
Gerald Martin, Chairman of the Pollination R&D Advisory Committee, says it’s vital that if Varroa mites do get into the country, they are found quickly.
“These parasitic pests have caused enormous damage as they’ve spread across the world and Australia is one of the few places still free of them,” Mr Martin said.
“When you consider that a staggering 65 per cent of agricultural production in Australia relies on the pollination efforts of wild bees and managed hives, everyone has an interest in protecting the industry.
“We’re hoping this pilot program will prove to be an efficient and cost-effective early detection system, catching any Varroa mites or other pests before they can spread too far and become established.
“The aims of the trial include collecting hard data on the costs and benefits of using volunteers and developing a best practice model for the system to be used more widely than it already is,” Mr Martin said.
The beekeepers are being trained in the use of sticky mats which are placed on the floor of the participating hives, separated from the bees by mesh, and sending them to DPI entomologists every six weeks for examination. The aim is to eventually use miticide strips which will cause any mites to fall on and stick to the mats.
Bee Force is being run in conjunction with existing state and national surveillance programs and will be expanded to Geelong in the second year if successful.
