Magazine article
Australia has already spent over $100 million dealing with Varroa mite. Here’s what we can do next
The Conversation, Vol.22 June 2026
2026
Appears in The Conversation
Abstract
The honeybee mite, Varroa destructor, finally breached Australia’s biosecurity defences four years ago, and is here to stay. Even more concerning, our standard treatments – such as specialised pesticides – are already failing.
What does this mean for Australians, and what can we do about it?
Roughly the size of a pinhead, the parasitic mite is regarded as the most destructive pest of honeybees worldwide. It feeds on bees, weakening colonies and causing their collapse.
For decades, Australia was the only continent free of the mite. That changed in 2022, when Varroa was detected in sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales.
An ambitious eradication campaign was launched, but abandoned by 2023. Today, Varroa is established across much of Australia’s eastern and southern states. The focus has shifted from eradication to management, and we now face a new threat – treatment-resistant mites.
Details
- Title
- Australia has already spent over $100 million dealing with Varroa mite. Here’s what we can do next
- Authors
- Kate Mounsey - University of the Sunshine CoastLucy Miles - University of the Sunshine CoastRobert Harvey - University of the Sunshine CoastRoy Barkan - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- The Conversation, Vol.22 June 2026
- Publisher
- Conversation Media Group
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.64628/AA.564xgshvc
- ISSN
- 2201-5639
- Copyright note
- © The Conversation Media Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Biomedicine; School of Health; Thompson Institute; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991243599002621
- Output Type
- Magazine article
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