Australian varroa alert

Australia, one of the last places on earth in which varroa has not yet been spotted, has just had a fright: a nest of Asian bees was found aboard a ship in Brisbane. The bees, presumably Apis cerana, may carry the varroa mite.

As a precaution, hive movements in a six-kilometre radius have been banned, the Asian bees have been destroyed and feral hives in the area will be destroyed (how will they find them!?). An Australian government agriculture official said that there was a very low risk that foraging bees had been able to transfer varroa to local domestic or feral honey bees.