The Australian bee industry is warning of crop failures and a potential food crisis as the bee-killing parasite varroa mite wipes out at least 60 per cent of hives.
The spread of the parasite through eastern states and South Australia since 2022 has devastated many beekeeping businesses.
A new Pollination Security Status Report 2026, released by The Wheen Bee Foundation, warns of a shortfall of close to 300,000 commercial beehives for the peak pollination season in August.
Foundation chief executive Fiona Chambers said the impact would be “massive”.
“Honey bees are particularly important for agriculture,” she said.
“Almonds are one of the big, big players, but it’s cherries, stone fruit, avocados, apples. It’s very broad the reach of this.”
Bees pollinate a range of flowering crops. (ABC News: Else Kennedy)
Not enough hives
Honey bees contribute $14.2 billion in value to Australian agriculture, with two-thirds of production benefiting from pollination.
The prediction of a shortfall of 290,000 hives for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia this year is modelled on overseas impacts of varroa mite.
“This is going to catch people by surprise,” Ms Chambers said.
“I think people generally know bees are important, but this report really puts numbers against how important, how urgent and how soon this is coming.”
James Brownlie says there won’t be enough hives to meet demand during pollination season. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)
While managed European honey bees are used to pollinate crops, Ms Chambers said wild bees are also important.
“One of the hidden findings was just how much heavy lifting our feral honey bees are currently doing for agriculture.
“With varroa mite coming into the country, we are going to lose all of those feral honey bees.”
Pollination provider James Brownlie said the shortfall prediction is alarming, but it matches what he is seeing on the ground.
“It’s just scary because there’s so many beekeepers leaving the industry.
“There’s just not going to be enough hives available to actually meet the demands,” he said.
“I think that we’re facing a slow-moving food crisis and no-one is aware that it’s coming.”
Industry devastation
Central Victorian beekeeper and industry leader Peter McDonald believes up to half of all bee businesses could fold because of varroa mite.
Mr McDonald said the recent detection of insecticide resistance is “terribly concerning” and could be the final straw for many.
“Every beekeeper right now is going through a thought process where they’re deciding whether they can continue, whether it’s worthwhile.
“As an estimate, it could be a third to half of beekeeping businesses [that fold].”
A female Varroa destructor mite on the head of its host, a bee pupa. (Supplied: Gilles San Martin)
Mr McDonald said the cost and labour requirements of managing varroa was crippling.
“We’ve got financial pressures on us left, right and centre; we’re in a world of pain,” he said.
“We are just going to have to be constantly at our beehives checking for the presence of varroa.”
‘I’m gone’
David Severino from Phillip Island Honey recently made the decision to exit beekeeping.
Philip Island was free of varroa for some time, but it has now been detected at the gateway to the island at San Remo.
As a small-scale commercial producer, Mr Severino said he did not have the resources to manage the pest.
David Severino says varroa mite is forcing him out of the industry. (Supplied: David Severino)
“I’m gone, in a nutshell. That’s it for me,” he said.
‘I’m a one-man band and the cost of treating and the time required; this is beyond what I’m capable of doing.
“And I think a lot of guys my size are getting out of the industry, selling up while they can or downsizing.”
Bees infested with varroa mites. (Supplied: Australian Honey Bee Industry Council)
Pass costs on?
Mr McDonald said beekeepers had limited ability to pass on the extra costs as they compete with cheaper, imported honey.
“We’re pretty much price-takers, and of course international prices are generally lower,” he said.
“We have a certain amount of control in terms of our own retail sales; selling at markets and the like, but it’s only as much as the customer will bear.”
Mr McDonald said there would be some relief financially as pollination demand grows, particularly in the almond industry.
Bees provide critical pollination services to the almond industry. (Supplied: Keely McDonald)
“Thankfully a lot of people who need us for pollination are aware of the impacts, so they are open to increased prices for pollination services,” he said.
Pollination strategy
The Pollination Security Status Report was developed as part of a $2.64 million project through The Wheen Bee Foundation to establish an Australian Pollination Strategy.
Supported by industry, researchers, environment groups and governments, the report examined the broad impacts of pollination for agriculture, food security, native ecosystems and social-economic systems.
“This report is a first of its kind, not just for Australia, but anywhere in the world because it brings together the most current available evidence,” Ms Chambers said.
“That’s so critical because we cannot have healthy agriculture without having healthy ecosystems.”
The strategy is expected to be published in November 2027.
