In her makeshift laboratory parked on a small apiary overlooking the popular coastal town of Kiama, Laura Patmore inspects the tiny body of a queen bee through her microscope.
The beekeeper had just completed a delicate procedure known as instrumental insemination.
Similar to selective breeding of livestock and pets, Ms Patmore uses a closed mating system to produce queen bees capable of passing on desired traits.
By prioritising only behavioural traits such as intruder aggressiveness and nest-building, she is working to boost the insect’s ability to detect and kill its deadliest pest, the varroa mite.
“The bees can then help themselves,” Ms Patmore said.
Ms Patmore performs instrumental insemination out of a renovated horse float. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
“The alternative to using those genetics is chemicals, which can get into the beeswax and also the honey that people in Australia have really enjoyed — raw, unfiltered, pure honey up to this point.”
Varroa mite is a parasite that kills honey-bee colonies and transmits viruses to its hosts.
Since its first detection 18 months ago, varroa has established itself in New South Wales.
Last week it was detected at a property down the road from Ms Patmore’s apiary.
“It’s going to mean a little bit more work keeping these colonies alive, but … I’ve been waiting for this varroa to arrive in the area so that I can find the colonies that are able to fight it on its own and breed from them,” she said.
Instrumental insemination allows breeders to select each parent bee. (Supplied)
A patient fight
Ms Patmore has attended instrumental insemination training courses in the state’s Hunter region to help in her own fight against varroa.
Now in her second year, she follows a relatively quick procedure that involves injecting an anaesthetised queen bee with semen from drone, or male, bees.
In a week or so, the queen will begin laying eggs and Ms Patmore will begin monitoring the hive, hopeful to see the characteristics she selected for.
“Because we are being so selective … we can have huge impacts in a very short period — something that would normally take decades. So it’s a really exciting field,” she said.
Ms Patmore took up her passion for beekeeping after two decades as a graphic designer. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) estimates about 50 people are actively practising instrumental insemination nationwide.
Ms Patmore said she hoped to “crack the genetic code” this season before exchanging details with other breeders.
“That’s the amazing thing about having a lab in a horse float — I can physically go and put our genetics into other beekeeping operations, and vice versa,” she said.
‘An insect on an insect’
AHBIC chief executive Danny Le Feuvre said the transition to varroa management rather than eradication was the largest plant pest response in Australia’s history.
“Varroa is a really difficult pest to control. We’re trying to control an insect on an insect,” he said.
Danny Le Feuvre has been a commercial beekeeper for 15 years, based in South Australia. (Supplied)
Mr Le Feuvre said instrumental insemination could advance Australia’s management of varroa, citing countries such as New Zealand and the United States which have had varroa mite for decades, and have used the technique to successfully breed resistant colonies.
“They’re able to keep varroa mite numbers down, not eliminate them, but it’s certainly helped in reducing the number of [chemical] treatments. So it’s a great tool,” he said.
“It will take [Australian] breeders some time to catch up. It’s difficult, but it certainly can be done.”
Ms Patmore can identify the queen bee in each of her hives because of a small coloured mark on its back. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
AHBIC is working to establish a nationally coordinated bee breeding strategy to ramp up production while remaining commercially viable.
When asked if the NSW government would support such a strategy, Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said her “door is always open”.
