Beekeeper who lost hives to varroa mite and bushfire ‘overwhelmed’ by support from community

A beekeeper in northern New South Wales has been struck by disaster for the second time, losing scores of beehives in recent bushfires, barely a year after having to euthanase his entire brood due to varroa mite.

Glenn Locke has hives split over four sites in the Coffs Harbour region and has cared for bees for more than 13 years.

In October he lost 40 beehives when a fire, which continues to burn this week, roared through the Nymboida area.

It was the latest in a series of challenges Mr Locke has struggled to overcome in running his small business, Mt Coramba Apiculture.

‘I lost everything’

In 2022 Mr Locke’s business endured an outbreak of varroa mite, which infects adult honey bees.

With an exclusion zone established in nearby Nana Glen, Mr Locke was required to euthanase bees in all 74 of his hives over four sites.

“I lost everything – it pretty much crippled my business for 12 months,” he said.

Despite the financial and emotional costs associated with restarting his business, Mr Locke re-established hives on a private property owned by friends near Nymboida.

By mid 2023, he had rebuilt his brood of bees to total 40 hives, while also creating YouTube videos educating beekeepers on varroa mite management techniques.

Not long after, the bushfires tore through the Nymboida area, and Mr Locke lost everything for a second time.

Nymboida fires wipe out hives 

A veteran of the Rural Fire Service, with over 13 years experience, Mr Locke was sent out to the Glens Creek Road bushfire in Nymboida as the captain of his local brigade on October 22.

The fire front threatened several properties in the area, including where his new hives had been relocated.

After a gruelling 12-hour shift fighting the blaze, Mr Locke believed the crew had seen out the worst.

“I called the property owner, he said not to worry, the fire was [contained] on the other side of the road,” he said.

But everything changed the next day, after worsening conditions saw the blaze reach an emergency warning level.

Mr Locke lost all 40 of his hives in the ensuing fire.

“It was such a blow to lose them again,” he said.

“That little ark I had up there was my start to get [the business] going again … it’s what I was relying on to keep going.”

A ‘terrible season’

Vice-president of Amateur Beekeeping Australia, Doug Purdie, says beekeepers are in the midst of a “terrible season”.

“We’ve lurched from terrible drought and bushfires, too much rain and varroa, and now we’ve cycled back to bushfires again,” Mr Purdie said.

“It’s been really challenging for quite a large number of people.”

Mr Purdie said that the current government support packages available for beekeepers affected by natural disasters are inadequate.

“Beekeepers are not supported in the same way as landowners, because they are just using the land rather than owning it,” he said.

“It’s a very, very complex network. It never seems to be sufficient enough, honestly.”

In the days following the fire, Mr Locke said he kept the devastation largely to himself.

“I was thinking, ‘how am I going to get myself out of this one?’,” he said.

After slowly reaching out to friends, Mr Locke eventually shared a video on his YouTube channel explaining the situation.

He has also enjoyed “overwhelming” support from the online beekeeping community.

Queensland beekeeper Guy Bertram, who developed a long-distance friendship with Mr Locke after watching his YouTube series, said he immediately wanted to help after learning about the tragedy.

“I rang him up and just said, ‘what can I do?'” Mr Bertram said.

“He’d give the shirt off his back to anyone.”

Within days, over $10,000 had been raised for Mr Locke in a GoFundMe campaign.

Beekeepers in the Northern Rivers also donated 40 hives, which Mr Locke aims to set up in the Orara Valley within the next fortnight.

Mr Locke said the support has helped him face the prospect of rebuilding his business for the third time.

“I will get going again, you’ve just gotta take it on the chin and keep going,” he said.

“A lesson I’ve learnt has been … when you’re down and out and hurting, accept that help.”