CEO report August 2024

July and August marks the start of the new season with many beekeepers very busy with bees being delivered to pollination jobs across the country.  Few reports of problems have come to AHBIC leading us to think that beekeepers have been able to navigate the regulations to get to where they need to go.  Generally, beekeepers have reported good quality pollination hives coming out of winter in the eastern states.

Unfortunately, varroa has been found in Victoria with a very low detection in a single hive being found in North Western Victoria.  It is unclear at this stage what this detection means for the current movement restrictions, but we will keep a close eye on any developments.

Varroa Transition to Management Program

The third and last of train the trainer event is being held in Brisbane.  This will upskill the remaining contract trainers and enable training to be delivered in the remaining jurisdictions.

VDO’s are reporting high levels of reinfestations in the Sydney-Newcastle region with high colony losses reported where monitoring isn’t conducted regularly.  The change in recommendation from NSW DPIRD for monitoring from 16 weeks to at least every 4 weeks where varroa is present is as a result of the field reports.

5^th Australian Bee Congress

The organising committee of the 5^th Australian Bee Congress have been working diligently to assess potential venues.  The committee recommended and to the AHBIC board approved, that the 2026 Congress will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, 19^th-21^st June 2026. More details will be communicated directly to industry in the coming weeks.

Red Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea) incursion in WA

Currently there has been 40 colonies detected and destroyed in the Burrup peninsula.  All but 6 of those colonies had Euvarroa present, but no other exotic mites or viruses.  Negotiations continue with CCEPP to determine the future of the response and funding.  AHBIC continues to reiterate the importance of eradicating this pest to all affected parties.

Asian Honey Bee (Apis cerana) detection in Brisbane

This response has been stood down with the movement control order due to expire at the end of August. There have been no further detections of either Asian honey bee or varroa jacobsoni. We anticipate QDAFF will provide more information to CCEPP about the future plans and proof of freedom moving forward.

The Month Ahead

Over the next month AHBIC will be busy working in the T2M program and working towards actioning the many motions from the AGM.

 

Danny LeFeuvre

CEO