Charles Sturt University entomologist Paul Weston says Australia has lost the fight to contain Varroa mite

Now, he thinks it's "game over".

The bee parasite, also known as the Varroa destructor, infects honey bee colonies and is spreading across NSW.

The state's Department of Primary Industries says it is one of the greatest threats to Australia's honey and pollination industries.

While native bees are not affected, the European and Asian honey bees primarily used by the industry are vulnerable. Varroa has a particular taste for larvae and pupae, resulting in weak, or deformed adult bees.

Dr Weston, who is based at Charles Sturt University in Wagga, said he doesn't think there's any hope of eradicating the mite.

"They [DPI] were not that successful even when it was fairly contained ... with all those efforts, they're still showing up outside containment zones, which means they have movement mechanisms we're not able to control," he said.

"We've lost the war ... now it's spreading this far from the original emergency zone, I'd say we're toast.

"I think the writing's on the wall, frankly. I've seen a number of these invasions of exotic pests and their attempts at removal. In most cases, they're extremely difficult to eradicate."

Varroa was first detected at the port of Newcastle in June 2022. Since then, it has travelled more than 1000 kilometres to the Sunraysia region on the NSW-Victorian border and infestations have been found in the Riverina.

An infestation of the mite was picked up at Nericon, just north of Griffith, on Friday, then at Balranald on Monday.

Friday's discovery came 24 hours after it was revealed a biosecurity emergency order would be put in place following a detection at Euroley, near Leeton, and Euston.

The NSW DPI has mobilised a $132 million response plan to track hives and destroy infected colonies and equipment. The intent is to eradicate the pest before it spreads across the country.

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DPI chief plant protection officer Shane Hetherington said the Riverina and Sunraysia detections followed extensive tracing work of all hives moved from Kempsey, where a cluster was recently detected.

"We understand that these recent detections in areas previously free of Varroa mite are disappointing, but we are confident in our tracing systems and we are uncovering these sites quickly," Dr Hetherington said.

"This infestation [near Balranald] is on the border with Victoria and is the fourth we have traced in the last week, which is a testament to the systems we have in place for hive movements.

"NSW DPI will need to complete surveillance on high-risk hives in order to develop a plan, which will allow necessary movement of hives while minimising the risk of spreading Varroa further. We are prioritising this work and will provide beekeepers with advice in the near future."

More than 25,000 hives have already been destroyed due to the infestation.

Dr Weston said, at this point, trying to eradicate Varroa was futile and it was time to switch to thinking about strategies for living with the pest.

"DPI is still in eradication mode, because I guess they think it can still be eradicated," he said.

"Part of the problem is that means you're destroying a lot of hives and that's going to cause real resentment in the beekeeping industry, because if we end up in management mode and accepting it, people will have lost a lot of hives for what appears to be no reason.

"If they decide they want to stay in beekeeping, it's a huge cost and a lot of them probably won't be able to sustain that."

NSW apiarists are required to obtain a permit to move their bees. Colonies within 25km of an infected hive can not be moved.

People moving hives or bees without an approved permit or declaration form completed can be charged by NSW Police.

Until last year, Australia was one of the only major honey producers in the world without Varroa mite.

Dr Weston said the experience of other countries showed that once containment zones have been broken by the mite, it's very hard to get back under control.

He said while Varroa does not directly impact the quality of honey, it will impact bee's capacity to pollinate and produce.

"Bees are doing it kind of tough because of a lot of environmental factors, and this is just one more stress that's going to make it harder," he said.

"The summer we're predicting because of El Nino and the positive Indian Dipole, possible bushfire threats because of increased plant material around, that causes a big stress.

"Locally, it might be enough to wipe out colonies."

Hive locations must be reported to NSW DPI by filling out the online forms at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au or by calling the Varroa Emergency Response Hotline on 1800 084 881.

For more information visit dpi.nsw.gov.au/varroa

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