00:00Beekeeping is just a hobby for many Canberrans, but the arrival of the Varroa mite means they'll
00:07need to take it more seriously.
00:09Once Varroa is in your hive, it can devastate your hive within two, three months.
00:15Confirmed cases of the parasite are rising and experts say it will be in half of the
00:19ACT's 6,000 hives within a year.
00:23It's not a matter of if.
00:24Varroa will go through, will be in every hive in the Canberra region within a two year window.
00:29Looking at other countries that have dealt with Varroa, we're looking at losing 50% of
00:37our hives here in Canberra.
00:40Hives can survive with Varroa but need to be properly managed.
00:43Biosecurity officials are asking beekeepers to register their hives to receive information
00:49on the best way to protect them.
00:51If you don't know what you're doing, you'll probably lose your hive.
00:54Small methods include using soft and hard chemicals or physically removing the mites.
00:59Yeah, this is one of the methods, primary methods I use, which is a mechanical approach
01:04for controlling Varroa.
01:05Varroa would show up as like a red, like a, same size as a sesame seed.
01:11A reduced bee population will mean less pollination for fruit trees and vegetable patches causing
01:17small yields or deformed fruit.
01:20You may get some vegetables and some fruit, but I think it will be impacted to some degree.
01:26Experts predict the bees will evolve to develop a resistance to Varroa.
01:30If we're smart about what we do and how we manage Varroa, we'll emerge out of this with
01:35more knowledge and better bees.
01:37Hives that survive the next two years will help to rebuild the Territory's bee population,
01:42but a return to current levels could take five years.
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