For many years, Australian beekeepers knew that the arrival of the world's worst honeybee parasite, the Varroa mite, was inevitable, but unfortunately, that reality has now come closer to home, with detections recently confirmed in the regions around Mount Gambier.
For beekeepers across South Australia, this marks a significant shift in our beekeeping landscape, as varroa is widely recognised as the most destructive parasite affecting honeybees globally. Once it takes hold, it fundamentally changes how beekeepers manage their hives.
For our team at Spiderman SE and Swarm SE, it’s a development we’ve been preparing for, but it’s still a sobering moment.
What is the Varroa Mite?
The Varroa destructor mite is a tiny parasitic mite and destroyer of honeybee colonies. They are small, reddish-brown, oval, and flat parasites roughly 1.1mm long and 1.5mm wide, and visible to the naked eye. It invades drone and worker brood cells (the hive's nursery), feeding and breeding on baby European honeybees. They directly inject viruses, can spread pathogens, and leave weakened hives vulnerable to secondary attacks by other pests, such as small hive beetles. Left unmanaged, varroa infestations can destroy entire colonies.
In countries where the mite has been around for decades, managing varroa has become one of the main challenges in modern beekeeping. Australia was among the last countries without the mite, but its arrival in 2022 has brought about major changes for our industry.
The Challenge of Chemical Resistance
Another issue that is quickly emerging when dealing with varroa is chemical resistance to treatments caused by genetic mutations. Over time, the mites can develop resistance to commonly used insecticides, known as pyrethroids. Reports from international beekeeping communities, and more recently here in Australia, indicate that some treatments are becoming less effective as mites adapt. As noted in a story on abc.net.au, nearly 90% of varroa mites survived during three tests on one beekeeper’s pyrethroid-treated beehives at Victoria Point. Authorities have announced that treatment-resistant varroa mites were detected in New South Wales in January 2026 and have now been confirmed at three sites in south-east Queensland, including the Southern Downs and Ipswich.
This has sparked ongoing discussions among beekeepers about how to manage varroa sustainably. Many responsible apiarists are now shifting towards integrated pest management strategies that combine monitoring, hive management practices, and selective treatments, rather than relying on a single chemical solution.
Chemical treatments may still have a role in the war against varroa, but they’re not the only tool available, and relying on them alone has contributed to resistance. Varroa management is complex, and every beekeeper will approach it slightly differently depending on their philosophy, hive numbers, and management style.
Preparing for the Inevitable
Here at Spiderman SE, we’ve been preparing for this reality for some time. Our very own queen bee, Sarah Cutting, travelled to Adelaide in early March 2026 to attend her fourth varroa management training session in Norton Summit.
These sessions concentrate on practical hive management strategies for handling varroa infestations once they become established. The aim is not just to respond to the mite, but to develop structured management plans that ensure the long-term viability of bee colonies.
The reality now is simple: it’s no longer a question of if we deal with varroa, but when.
Following the training, Sarah has been refining our bee management plan to ensure our apiary remains as resilient as possible since Varroa has recently been detected in Mt Gambier. For our own apiary, Sarah has developed a management plan that focuses on non-chemical methods as the starting point. These strategies include:
- Careful hive monitoring
- Brood management techniques
- Maintaining strong, healthy colonies
Why we’ve temporarily paused Bee Removal and Bee Relocations
Since returning from the varroa management training session, we have made the tough decision to temporarily halt bee removal and bee relocations. Sadly, the biosecurity risk has risen significantly with Varroa now spreading across several parts of Australia, and feral colonies can quickly become what us beekeepers call ‘mite bombs.”
A “mite bomb” happens when an unmanaged colony becomes heavily infested. As the hive collapses, mites disperse with drifting or robbing bees and rapidly spread to nearby colonies.
Relocating feral colonies now carries the risk of unknowingly transporting varroa mites back into our own apiary, which could devastate our managed hives and goes against every principle we hold regarding responsible and ethical beekeeping. So, for that reason, relocating colonies is simply not a risk we’re prepared to take right now.
Changes to our Bee Removal jobs
We continue to attend jobs where bees must be euthanised for safety reasons. However, we’ve updated our procedures for handling such removals. While we used to remove and dispose of honeycomb or hive materials ourselves, we now follow new processes to minimise biosecurity risks.
Our dedicated team now:
- Removes and cleans up accessible honeycomb
- Bag the material on site
- Material remains with the property owner for appropriate disposal
Nothing from the hive comes back to our premises. Again, this is purely a biosecurity decision designed to minimise the risk of accidentally transporting mites or contaminated materials between locations.
Supporting local bees in a changing environment
The arrival of varroa in the region is understandably concerning for beekeepers, pollination industries, and anyone who values healthy ecosystems. Honeybees play a vital role in agriculture and biodiversity, and managing new threats like varroa requires education, planning, and cooperation across the beekeeping community.
At Spiderman SE and Swarm SE, we’re committed to doing our part by taking a cautious, responsible approach that protects both our bees and the wider environment. For now, that means tightening biosecurity, adapting how we work in the field, and continuing to learn as the situation evolves.
Your quick action helps protect your home, your family, and the bees.