It said that at many forums, horticulture has been warned of the ramifications about when (not if) Varroa mite establishes in Australia. There is now the first evidence from Biosecurity Queensland that this devastating pest is in the state.

While the Queensland industry dealing with Varroa jacobsoni rather than Varroa destructor, the experts say it is just a matter of time before jacobsoni will cause as much damage as destructor.

Queensland has been the first state in the firing line and as predicted the first infestation was found at a major port. It has made the jump from Papua New Guinea, where it is established, to Australia. Growcom asks how long will it be before the pest is declared ineradicable?

Biosecurity Queensland confirmed the mite was found in a feral Asian honey bee hive found in late June by local stevedores at the port of Townsville. Surveillance of the area has turned up a second site at Annandale, a suburb nine kilometres away.

Restrictions, within a ten-kilometre radius, have now been imposed on the movement of bee hives, bees, bee products (excluding honey) and used bee keeping equipment to prevent the spread of the mite.

Varroa mite is the world’s most devastating honeybee parasite and up until now Australia has been the only country free from it.

Varroa has the potential to wipe out feral populations of European honeybees and significantly harm commercial hives, with flow-on effects for the pollination of valuable crops, particularly in horticulture.

Pollination is critical for dozens of horticultural crops including almonds, apples, avocados and cherries, and is also important for pastures, fodder and some broadacre crops.

Due to the large number of wild European honeybees in Australia, their vital role in pollination is not widely recognised or valued.

However, experts say Varroa mite could diminish to insignificance the contribution from incidental pollination within five to ten years.

Growcom believes that this will leave many horticulture industries without the means to pollinate their crops unless they hire hives. But do we have enough managed honeybee hives in Australia to meet demand? And what restrictions will be placed on the movement of hives from area to area if regions are quarantined due to varroa outbreaks?

The study Pollination Aware from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation suggested that if pollination by wild European honeybees was eliminated by Varroa mite, almost 480,000 colonies of honeybees would be needed to provide the necessary pollination services. The study was written several years ago and that number is likely to be far greater as horticulture has expanded.

Growcom said that Horticulture has had more than ten years to get ready for this. But as we have seen with the withdrawal of certain important agricultural chemicals there is a difference between hearing about a major threat and actually having it impact your business.

With the introduction of the two new Biosecurity Acts nationally and in Queensland last month the emphasis is on shared responsibilities and obligations for farmers and governments.

The industry body said that the costs involved in surveillance, containment and eradication of major pests are high and some would argue ineffective (the spread of fire ants is a case in point). However, Queensland should not be expected to bear the cost of the efforts to control Varroa alone since the pest has major ramifications for the national industry.

Growcom said it is committed to working with government and other agencies to assist in containing this latest threat to the development of horticulture in this state and nationally. It calls on the Federal and Queensland Governments to work together and properly resource attempts to control this pest adequately.