Varroa Found in New Zealand

MAF field teams begin beehive inspections for Varroa mite Five field teams of apiarists led by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry authorised personnel were out in South Auckland today inspecting beehives for the honey bee mite, Varroa jacobsoni. A field operations headquarters was made operational. Policies have been developed to ensure that such a large-scale survey proceeds in a coordinated manner, with high priority tasks attended to at the earliest opportunity. The survey got underway within the proposed controlled area, which was put in place last night by the Ministry, after the Varroa mite's presence was found on three beehives on a South Auckland property on Tuesday. Three other inspected properties also showed signs of infestation. All the suspected infected premises were non-commercial operations with small numbers of hives, totalling 14, within a 10-km distance from each other. Eight of these hives were dead, with others showing low populations and other typical symptoms of Varroa mite infestation. Two hives on the first property identified were immediately destroyed by the owner. The pattern on these properties suggests that natural dispersal through bee movements (abandoning and robbing of crashed hives) is the likely means of dissemination. Tracing forwards and backwards from these premises, in particular identifying high-risk movements such as bees, hives and equipment, is taking place. MAF and the National Beekeepers Association (NBA) are working together to determine how far the mite has spread and options for control. The survey is to be undertaken within the controlled area. High priority has been assigned to visiting and inspecting beehives in the area immediately surrounding the infected premises, in particular commercial premises; the outer perimeter of the controlled area; and high risk traces from infected premises. Reports in response to a MAF request that beekeepers nationally inspect hives looking for signs of Varroa infestation will also be investigated. At this stage it is unknown how the mite arrived in New Zealand. The evidence suggests it may have been present and undetected for up to five years. Spread is commonly by live bees, and there have been no live bee imports permitted into New Zealand for at least 40 years to protect our bee health status. The mite spreads by natural means very slowly, at a rate of 5 km a year. When first affected, hives have low numbers of mites that are not easily seen. Numbers build up over several years until the hive dies. Trade implications Exports of live bees out of New Zealand have stopped, even though some of our major markets of bee products (Canada, Korea and Europe) have Varroa present. Because of this, bee exports are not expected to be halted for long. New Zealand has a large live bee export market with 17, 500 packages of 1kg of bees exported to Canada and Europe in 1999. All bee exports usually go through Auckland International Airport and special requirements, which met OIE specifications will be required, for the export certification of the products. Once MAF is aware of how far the mite has spread within the controlled area, the Ministry will be looking to reopen exports.