Government rethinks fight against Asian honey bees
Peak horticulture organisation Growcom today welcomed news that the federal government has told a Senate enquiry it has decided to rethink its decision not to fight the invasion of the destructive Asian honey bee.
Growcom recently made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs and Transport currently investigating the science underpinning the technical feasibility of eradicating Asian honeybees.
Growcom argued that more time and debate needed to be given to the question of whether Australia could eradicate the Asian honey bee, since key scientists were not in agreement about whether or not it was “impossible” to achieve.
Chief Executive Officer Alex Livingstone said that Growcom supported the efforts of the Australian Honey Bee Industry’s Council to have funding restored to the Asian honey bee eradication program in Queensland.
“We represent the interests of fruit and vegetable growers in Queensland, who rely heavily on the pollination services of European honey bees. These services to agriculture are estimated to be worth millions of dollars annually,” said Mr Livingstone.
“Bee populations are on the decline world-wide, but Australia has been relatively protected from many of the natural enemies and competitors of the European honey bee due to its isolation as an island nation and through the protective operations of our quarantine inspection services.
“Asian honey bees are a natural host for varroa mites, a major threat to Australia’s honey bee industry. Currently, Australia is the only honey-producing country in the world where varroa mite is not present. It is estimated that between 20-30 per cent of managed honey bee hives would die in the first wave of varroa infestation in Australia.
“In addition, the Asian honeybee robs honey from hives and competes for flora, leading to the death of hives of both European and native honey bees.
“These impacts ultimately mean the loss of vital pollination services to the horticulture industry.”
Mr Livingstone said that Biosecurity Queensland had so far detected Asian honeybees in Queensland at Cairns, Gordonvale and Aloomba, at Mareeba and Lake Eacham, and as far south as Innisfail.
“However, the pest should be considered a national problem since it could well become established in states further south, as Queensland fruit fly has done, to the detriment of horticulture Australia-wide.
“Growcom considers that if there is any chance that the pest can be successfully eradicated then it should be pursued.”
It is wonderful to see the Asian Honey Bee eradication program has been extended. One of the outcomes from the Papaya Fruitfly eradication program what that the practices learnt could be used against any future fruit fly eradication program. If the same amount of effort, resources and thoroughness which were input into the Papaya Fruit Fly program where input into the Asian Honey Bee program, I am sure the Asian Honey Bee would not stand a chance of establishing itself for long. I remember the specially built checkpoints built even at Rollingstone, north of Townsville which was a long way from the infected area, to ensure no fruit travelled out of the area. The thoroughness of the officer’s checking vehicles, buses and cars for fruit was to be commended. I was told by DPI there are a couple of hundred apiarists just in the Townsville region, so there must be many apiarists in north Queensland. With this large number of bee – aware and savvy people, there could be an army of people who are on the alert for the Asian Honey Bee, but DPI need to be prepared to take on board their observations immediately. The difference in appearance of the bees needs a higher profile in the local newspapers, so the general public are also aware. Is an immature European Honey Bee similar to an Asian Honey Bee? More photos of the bees with a scale to illustrate size needs to be circulated, not just text without photos. The fire ant program has a high profile in SEQueensland and receives much attention, funding and research. The same level of effort and resources needs to be spent on Asian bees.
The fact that there was the need for eradication of Asian Honey Bees at Townsville Port in February 2012 shows the worth of keeping these bees at a high profile. I wonder if any escaped to set up camp around Townsville?
The above comment should read the bees were eradicated from the Townsville Port in February 2013.