Tamworth beekeepers shocked by transition from Varroa eradication to management

More than 30,000 hives, or about one billion bees, have been euthanised as authorities tried to halt the spread, but owner of Tamworth Beekeeping Supplies Tony Bradbery says that will pale in comparison to what's to come now that the industry is transitioning from eradication to a management approach.

"People think killing the bees they've killed so far is bad, wait until you see what Varroa kills ... the latest stats from the countries living with it are between 42 and 61 per cent of managed hives die out per year from Varroa," Mr Bradbery said.

"Some people think this is going to be a good thing, but they're about to learn otherwise."

Varroa can be controlled by natural and synthetic chemical treatments, husbandry practices and maintaining tolerant bees, but managing and monitoring hives increases costs for beekeepers, especially for the extra labour involved.

When the parasite took hold in New Zealand, beekeepers experienced increased costs of $40 to $50 per colony per year.

Small businesses and hobby beekeepers affected by Varroa are likely to bear the brunt of the increased costs, and the owner of Tamworth Beekeeping Supplies says he's already lost several customers, and is worried he may have to close his business.

"Three beekeepers have already told me they're going to retire, and six of them said they're only be able to run half the number of hives they do now, given the time and cost it takes to manage it," Mr Bradbery said.

The Australian Government estimates the number of beekeepers exiting the sector nationwide will number somewhere between 5000 to 6000.

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Despite a $100 million effort to eradicate the pest over the past 14 months, the National Management Group (NMG), which manages the spread of varroa mite, declared the eradication strategy was no longer possible.

"Living with it means there goes our clean-green world reputation for our honey because the treatments to live with it taint that. Beekeeping is going to be a whole lot harder from here on in," Mr Bradbery said.

The NMG blamed "non-compliance by bee industry actors with the NSW Movement Orders and the mandatory hive testing," and illegal movement of bees resulting in the spread of Varroa.

But Mr Bradbery says the NMG and the Department of Primary Industries should own up to their fair share of the blame.

"In all honesty I wish they'd just locked down and not allowed bees to move the way they did, or put in bigger exclusion zones," he said.

The small business owner also pointed the finger at big pollination businesses, who often move their hives from almond plantations on the border of Victoria to canola fields near Gunnedah and the Central West, and finally up to Queensland for macadamia season.

"The pollination industry is actually to blame for it because they were the ones pressuring it, and they're the ones who are ultimately going to pay the price because the bees won't be there, beekeepers can't sustain the numbers," Mr Bradbery said.

On top of the effect on business, there's also natural pollination to consider.

Varroa mite has wiped out between 95 and 100 per cent of unmanaged hives in Europe and the United States.

However, the parasite only affects European Honeybees. Australia's native bees are mostly unaffected.

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