Beekeeping

Angry bees are buzzing around a truck carrying hives after it crashed on the Warrego Highway this morning.

There are growing fears that a second varroa mite strain could enter Australia, as beekeepers lose key chemical options for controlling the tiny parasites of honey bees.

Experts say half of the ACT's 6,000 beehives have been impacted by the fast-spreading parasite varroa mite with more than 1,000 destroyed.

Australia's leading biosecurity experts have been unable to trace the source of the of the bee-killing varroa mite incursion which has changed the face of beekeeping and pollination in Australia.

The study also found PFOS exposure in European honey bee colonies led to the birth of smaller young and threatened the viability of their hives, researchers say.

The world's worst honey bee parasite is genetically mutating, becoming resistant to common treatments used to save hives.

Apiarists in Victoria are wondering how they will keep their bees fed during winter after bushfires two years in a row render certain areas inaccessible.

A fast-spreading parasite is expected to devastate local bee colonies over the next two years, affecting commercial and backyard crops.

The varroa mite may be tiny — only a millimetre or two long — but it poses a huge threat to honey bees, beekeepers and honey producers, who are on high alert after the destructive mite's recent arrival in South Australia. 

Australian beekeepers are funding their own investigation into the authenticity of imported honey, with tests showing other products are being added.

Beekeepers say the escalating cost of pollinating crops will be passed onto consumers as the industry battles a devastating bee killer.

Beekeepers are being urged to monitor their hives more frequently after further detections of the deadly bee parasite varroa mite in South Australia.

The cost of treating varroa mite in the beekeeping industry is flowing onto other food growers reliant on pollination.

The deadly bee parasite has been detected in South Australia again — this time in the state's south-east.

A deadly parasite that has laid waste to bee colonies throughout Australia has so far not made it to Kangaroo Island, home to the world's oldest bee sanctuary.

Researchers behind a new study examining thousands of flower specimens collected over the past century say temperature increases could be behind a pollination decline in native orchids.

Thousands of bees appear without warning in the regional city, alarming locals and causing a commotion.

Apiarists are concerned they are losing access to public land in Victoria that provides a critical food source for their hives.

PIRSA says there is a chance the deadly parasite remains in the state where it was detected for the first time earlier this month.

A pollination ecologist says it is important people play their part in preserving native bees.