Management not eradication

It seems that plans to eradicate varroa in South Island, New Zealand have at last been abandoned.

Government opposition parties are grumbling, the Federated Farmers' Bee Industry Group chairman, Lin McKenzie, says the government's decision is a betrayal, but bee farmers in Nelson, the infected area, have welcomed the end to the uncertainty and are now planning for spring orchard pollination.

The government says it will spend NZ$3.2 million over the next four years to try to slow the spread of varroa. Eradication costs were estimated to be NZ$9.5 million.