The first step is to pour gasoline into the beehive. Next is the time to wait. When the hive burns the next day, the work is over.
Since last week, this cycle has been repeated near ports in eastern Australia and is part of the government’s efforts to protect Australia’s multi-million dollar honey industry.
Millions of bees have been destroyed to curb the epidemic of the deadly varroa that reappeared in the country last week near the Port of Newcastle.
“Australia is the only major honey-producing country free of dubbo mites,” said Satin Dracmar, Chief Plant Conservation Officer in New South Wales, where pests were discovered on Friday. If the bee mite settles in Australia, he said, in addition to the impact on crops that depend on bee pollination, the country’s honey industry could cost more than $ 70 million annually.
The global agricultural industry is already upset by rising prices of fertilizers, fuels and machinery, and supply chain problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Ukrainian War is an additional blow.
Authorities have ordered a virtual blockade of honeycombs in the affected areas of the state. Beehives usually move from place to place. This is an important process for Australia’s $ 15 billion horticultural industry as it is used to help pollinate crops.
Reddish-brown, sesame-sized mites can spread from bees to bees and through beekeeping equipment containing extracted combs. If left untreated, mites can kill entire bee colonies, the government says.
Even the Government of New South Wales, which is responsible for eradication, admits that “eventually, it is inevitable that varroa will settle in Australia,” so it is not easy to contain them.
Still, the government is working hard to postpone the inevitable. According to the Queensland Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, invasions prior to 2016, 2019 and 2020 are believed to have been successfully eradicated.
One of the biggest challenges in current containment efforts is to locate infected urticaria and map the spread of urticaria over vast areas. Australian Bee Industry Council.. He said urticaria needs to be contained within the Port of Newcastle and its 31-mile radius.
This port is a major destination and one of the busiest coal export hubs in the world.
Feuvre and his team work with at least 300 beekeepers to visit farms and help authorities drive inspections. They wash the hives with alcohol and use an adhesive mat to check if the bees are infected with mites.
To date, at least 600 urticaria, each containing about 30,000 bees, have been destroyed in the area, he said.
However, authorities have found at least nine more sites of infection. One is 235 miles away near the city of Dubbo. The state’s agriculture minister, Dugard Sanders, said at a press conference Thursday that more bees are at risk of being destroyed in the next few days.
“Beekeepers are very nervous right now,” Feuvre said.
He said he was confident that the country could contain spreads given its history. Previous eradication efforts Varroa destructor and strict control at all airports that prohibit passengers from bringing live plants, soil, fruits and vegetables into Australia.
“We have eradicated them for such a long time,” he said. “We will give it the best shot.”