Australia is fighting to contain the outbreak of small parasitic mites that kill European bees and spread the virus. The Baroa destroyer was first found in a port in New South Wales, but was found in a nest box 100 kilometers away. Part of the bee industry in eastern Australia has been blocked.
Australia is one of the few countries to remain free of baroamite, but its strict border biosecurity controls have been violated. A pinhead-sized parasite was detected more than a week ago in the port of Newcastle, north of Sydney, and has spread to other nest boxes in New South Wales.
Containment zones are located around known intrusions, and both professional and amateur beekeepers are prohibited from moving nest boxes, bees, or beehives.
So far, hundreds of nest boxes containing thousands of insects have been destroyed.
Victoria, Queensland and South Australia have temporarily banned bee products from neighboring New South Wales.
Tim Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Armons Australia, an industry group representing producers, hopes it's not too late to eradicate devastating pests. Told to.
"This is a biosecurity disaster. It's the almond industry and the worst nightmare for many. Baro amite attaches to bees and is carried to other nest boxes with drone bees, essentially. It kills the bees and causes serious damage to the nest box. In fact, if no treatment is given, it kills the nest box. So the bees are now quite dormant, so we are now and In the next couple of weeks, we had the opportunity to actually get over this and go around our affected areas, that is, around them, "he said.
Experts say that the number of baroamite increases over time, and without chemical treatment, the beehives and nest boxes will eventually die.
Loss of bee colonies impairs honey production and contamination of the crops that supply about one-third of the food that humans eat.
Pests have been found in many parts of Asia, Europe, the United States and South America.
Australia has so far eliminated outbreaks of isolated baroamite three times in Victoria in 2018 and in Queensland between 2016 and 2020, but the current epidemic is far greater. It is widespread.
It can cost millions of dollars to the Australian honey and food manufacturing industry and can have a global impact.
Australia is the leading supplier of Queen and Hive bees to North America, the Middle East, and Japan.
