Beekeeping

Fearing for their treasured bees, a couple of amateur organic beekeepers launch Varroa Warriors to combat confusion over treatment options.

Whether you're interested in the sweet benefits of backyard beekeeping or making your home more appealing to solitary species of native bees, what can you do to attract them to your garden?

Flowers, honey and plenty of produce: bees play a vital role in nature's ecosystem, and without them, we wouldn't have any of these things. 

Broome beekeeper Ryan Leavitt is devastated — and thousands of dollars out of pocket — after 960,000 bees from his hives were poisoned with insecticide in a single night.

As almond growers and beekeepers prepare for the upcoming pollination season, industry experts warn ongoing restrictions on moving bees could cripple the harvest for another year.

A variety of the highly destructive varroa mite has been detected in Brisbane. Movement restrictions have been imposed and keepers are being urged to test their bees for the parasite.

The wingless braula fly, which rides on bees before laying larvae that can damage honeycomb, has been found in bees near Tamworth.

Too few to reproduce, a single Asian honey bee queen and her workers defied the odds to establish thousands of colonies. How they did it could help bring others back from the brink, but not without a cost.

A solitary specimen of Varroa jacobsoni, which is a different species to the pest plaguing New South Wales and Victoria, was found during a routine inspection of a sentinel hive in Brisbane. 

It has been nearly five months since Australia gave up trying to eradicate varroa mite, but a national plan is now locked in to slow its spread.

Scott Whitaker shows no fear and films as he collects tens of thousands of "super gentle" bees during a bumper swarm season.

Beekeepers say cheap foreign honey is pushing prices down to unsustainable levels but importers say they are providing options to value-conscious shoppers.

Several beekeepers in South Australia's Riverland are calling for greater transparency on the potential harm of the state's fruit fly chemical sprays.

Beekeepers call for education and training as they make decisions about rebuilding their hives and living with varroa mite.

Native bee researchers are travelling overseas and interstate to find work despite there being a sizeable knowledge gap about Australia's vast array of species.

A good spring and plenty of food have increased the number of bees looking to establish new colonies, but as the varroa mite moves through the region it could drastically reduce feral bee swarms.

The potential impacts of varroa mite on Australia are being realised as a feral bee die-off is predicted, potentially leading to increased production costs for farmers who relied on them for pollination.

After varroa mite ruined his first hives and bushfire wrecked his second, NSW Mid North Coast beekeeper Glenn Locke has vowed he will "get going again".

Spring is the time of year when you're most likely to come across swarms of honey bees in seemingly random places. But beekeepers say swarms are nothing to fear and are part of the natural reproductive life cycle of honey bees. 

As the industry works out what's next in learning to live with the deadly parasite, search warrants have been issued as part of the federal government's investigation into the suspected illegal importation of bees infected with the pest.

Australia's decision to abandon efforts to eradicate varroa mite is triggering an exodus of backyard and hobby beekeepers, with thousands already selling their bee smokers and hanging up their bee suits.

Ian Cass had been stung by bees plenty of times before and didn't know he was experiencing anaphylaxis the first time it happened. Now he has found a way to continue his passion without putting his health at risk.

The transition from beehive eradication to management of varroa mite comes as a relief for Kempsey beekeepers who no longer have to euthanase their hives.

Research into varroa mite is expected to surge after Australia waved the white flag in its fight to eradicate the pest from New South Wales, a decision that is also expected to increase beekeeping costs.

Tasmanian beekeepers are on alert after the mainland gave up on eradicating the varroa mite — but one local apiarist sees the march of the deadly parasitic pest as an "opportunity" for the island's industry.