Customers have recently contacted us, concerned about the use of chemical miticides in our hives and the possible contamination of our honey.
That concern is valid, and the following article has been written to advise our customers about our Varroa mite management practices.
In summary:
We use integrated pest management, and while chemical treatments are sometimes necessary, they are used as a last resort.
Food safety is important. Any Varroa mite management chemicals applied to the hives are used as per the label or associated permits.
You may read about some beekeepers who claim that the bees will look after themselves just fine and that Varroa isn’t a problem. This is not true. Unmanaged hives will die.
The health and welfare of our bees are a priority. The loss of a single hive to Varroa is unacceptable, and we will do everything possible to avoid it.
Our methods of Varroa mite management are proven worldwide, and they work.
Things that don’t work:
Mindfulness
Rhubarb leaves
Crystals
Letting the bees sort it out themselves
Homeopathy
Vibrational medicine
Biodynamic pepper
Letting the bees swarm
Dusting with sugar
Prayer & love
Varroa Mite Management
When did Varroa mites arrive in Australia?
Since Varroa destructor was initially detected in Australia in June 2022 at the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales, Varroa mite management has become crucial to ensure that my bees remain healthy and produce honey.
Despite a significant national response, the incursion of Varroa could not be controlled, and in September 2023, it was agreed that eradicating Varroa mites was not technically feasible.
On August 18, 2024, I found the first Varroa mite in one of my apiaries at Coramba.
When I wrote this article on March 28, 2025, Varroa destructor had spread through all of my sites in the Orara Valley.
Why are Varroa destructor mites a problem?
Varroa mites are a parasite of the European honey bee, Apis mellifera.
Varroa mites spread from bee to bee on shared floral resources, robbing between colonies, drifting of bees between colonies and also from beekeepers moving hive parts between beehive colonies and apiaries.
Australia is currently in the buildup phase, and varroa mite populations are unstable and unpredictable, making Varroa mite management difficult.
Varroa mites affect bees in several ways:
Weight loss
Reduced ability to fly
Poor breeding ability
Shortened lifespan
Impaired cognition
Long absences from the hive
Decreased return to the hive
Reduced immune function
Increased illness
Deformities if viruses are present.
All of these symptoms eventually culminate in Parasitic Mite Syndrome (PMS), causing colony stress, then colony decline and eventually death.
How are we monitoring Varroa mites?
We actively check for Varroa mites regularly, and in practical terms, we check a good proportion of our hives every 24 days.
Varroa mites at low levels are challenging to see with the naked eye.
We use an alcohol wash to monitor our Varroa mite levels.
Unfortunately, this kills 300 bees each time it is done.
However, losing a few hundred bees every 24 days or so is preferable to losing the whole colony.
We use Integrated Pest Management for Varroa Mite Management.
Successful Varroa mite management comes from using a range of strategies.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) involves a combination of cultural, mechanical and chemical strategies.
Breeding. We are constantly striving to improve the genetics of our hives. Healthy hives with hygienic traits can resist the pressure of Varroa.
Mechanical Control
Screened bottom boards. The vast majority of our hives have screened bottom boards. We have a mix of polystyrene “Paradise” and Hive IQ equipment. Up to 20% of Varroa mites fall off the bees when they emerge from the brood cell. The screened bottom boards allow them to fall out onto the ground, where they are cleaned up by ants and die.
Mite trapping in drone comb. Varroa mites are attracted to drone cells because they get an extra 3 days to reproduce. Worker bees hatch in 21 days, whereas drones take 24. Mature female Varroa mites enter the drone cell before it is capped and hide under the developing larvae. In summary, we take advantage of this behavior by removing the drone comb with the trapped Varroa around day 24 and then freezing the frame of brood for 24 hours. This kills the trapped mites (and the drone brood, unfortunately). Mite trapping can be a very practical, non-chemical method of Varroa management. Please take a look at this video on mite trapping in our hives.
Requeening and Brood interruption. Varroa mites require brood (baby bees) to reproduce, so any form of brood interruption contributes to Varroa management success. We can also use hive splitting and queen caging to achieve similar results.
Mite trapping and brood interruption both come at a cost to the colony. Producing a comb full of drone brood requires a lot of energy and resources. Brood interruption methods lower the colony size and, subsequently, honey yields.
Chemical Control
Chemicals used for Varroa mite management can be broken up into two groups
Synthetic. Chemicals made using a chemical process or by chemically changing a naturally occurring plant, animal or mineral
Non-synthetic. Naturally derived products where the active ingredient is made from a living organism. Sometimes referred to as “organic”.
This document contains all of the current approved chemical methods for managing Varroa.
While the table suggests a broad range of available treatments, several factors limit what we can use at Mt. Coramba Apiculture.
We leave our honey supers on the hives year-round, which rules out using at least three synthetic chemicals, Apistan, Apivar and Apitraz.
Two of the non-synthetic treatments (Formic Pro and Apiguard) are temperature-sensitive. They are less effective when the weather is cold and can kill the bees if the temperature is too hot. Apiguard taints the honey, so it also can’t be used with the honey supers on. In addition, these “organic” treatments can be harsh on the bees and sometimes kill the hive or damage the queen.
So, what chemical treatments do we use for Varroa mite management?
Our current strategy is to keep mite infestation levels low by trapping Varroa mites in drone combs, brood interruption and non-synthetic Oxalic Acid treatments.
Sometimes, we have used a synthetic chemical called Bayvarol to deal with high mite loads when the colony’s health is threatened.
All synthetic and non-synthetic chemicals are used strictly under the directions on the label or the product permit.
There is no evidence that either treatment will contaminate honey for human consumption when the directions for use are followed.
At the time of writing this article, we have only used Bayvarol in 13 of approximately 80 production hives, and no honey for human consumption has been removed from those hives post-treatment.
The owner of Mt. Coramba Apiculture, Glenn Locke, has had the beekeeping urge since the early 1980s as a 14-year-old teenager.
The Warwick (QLD) high school agriculture department had a few beehives, and beekeeping was taught as a subject. Glenn’s agriculture teacher, Jim Caird, let him have a nucleus hive, and the addiction started.
The move to the mid-north coast of NSW, particularly the beautiful Orara Valley, means that Glenn now has the space to commence beekeeping again. Glenn has managed beehives in the Orara Valley since 2009.
