The NSW government will not attempt to eradicate an exotic bee parasite from the state after it was detected near Tamworth.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said braula fly was found during routine surveillance for varroa mite on hives at its Tamworth Agricultural Institute on January 15.
Once considered a major threat to the commercial beekeeping industry, DPI manager of plant biosecurity, prevention and preparedness Chris Anderson said it was now considered a minor and insignificant pest.
“There’s no scientific or economic justification for attempting to eradicate braula fly from NSW,” Dr Anderson said.
The wingless fly, which looks similar to varroa mite but has only six legs, attaches itself to bees and buries its larvae in a hive’s honeycomb.
The larvae tunnel through the honeycomb, affecting the look and quality of the honeycomb.
However, Dr Anderson said strategies could be put in place to deal with it.
“You need to ensure that the comb honey is frozen because that kills the eggs of the fly and will prevent it from damaging the comb honey,” he said.
Honeycomb value ‘decreases significantly’
North Coast beekeeper Di McQueen-Richardson said the detection of braula fly could pose a significant threat to her business.
She said the damage the fly caused to honeycomb reduced its commercial value.
“It may not be an issue for commercial beekeepers who are just chasing honey, but for those of us who sell honeycomb, it no longer looks so beautiful, and unfortunately customers are fairly particular about the way it looks,” Ms McQueen-Richardson said.
“It commands a high price because of the quality and unfortunately if it’s compromised the value of it decreases significantly.”
Ms McQueen-Richardson said while braula fly did not directly harm bees it could compromise a hive.
“They’re fighting for the food sources and resources, so the queen can become compromised, the hives can become weakened,” she said.
Pest infiltrated other states
The pest is endemic in Tasmania and Agriculture Victoria confirmed braula fly was now considered established in Victoria following the detection in multiple apiaries across the state in 2022.
Dr Anderson said tracing of last month’s detection of braula fly at Tamworth found links to a number of different places in NSW but no interstate links.
Tasmanian Beekeepers Association president Lindsay Bourke said braula fly was a minor pest that beekeepers could live with.
“It likes very clean, pristine conditions; it turns its nose up and dies at any hint of any chemicals, even nicotine smoke,” he said.
Beekeepers concerned over biosecurity
Beekeepers across NSW were first alerted to the detection of braula fly near Tamworth in the DPI’s Bee Biosecurity Newsletter on February 19, more than a month after its detection.
NSW Apiarists Association’s Tamworth branch president Ray Hull said while the pest was, in his opinion, not a huge cause for concern, he questioned whether biosecurity surveillance needed to be examined.
“There needs to be a change in the way DPI or surveillance looks at things. Things have got to happen faster,” he said.
Mr Hull said varroa mite was an example of a response that could have been quicker if there were more boots on the ground.
“The whole varroa thing took so long and got so big they didn’t have the numbers of people to look after it,” he said.
Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday.
