Just 1 per cent of Qld's 10,000 apiarists at first biosecurity webinar

Four years ago Mr Wilson founded the Wilson Beekeeping Co at Gleneagle with three hives but when the micro-business quickly outgrew his yard, he arranged to have the hives placed at his father-in-laws property in the bush outside Beaudesert.

As a registered apiarist, Mr Wilson, 35, said he had stayed aware of issues such as Asian honey bee and Varroa mite via notifications and updates from Biosecurity Queensland and the Department of Primary Industries - and moving his hives away from any urban pests made good sense.

For Queensland Beekeepers' Association state secretary Jo Martin, responsible apiarists like Mr Wilson are a good example of the state's 10,000 beekeepers who manage 160,000 hives.

But Ms Martin said only one per cent of Queensland apiarists attended the first of two free and critically important biosecurity webinars designed to help protect bee populations from Varroa mite and learn about the Asian honey bee threat.

Ms Martin said the April 4 webinar she presented in conjunction with BQ's Varroa Mite Prevention and Preparedness Project manager Robert Stephens, attracted around 100 apiarists, with the majority being backyard beekeepers or those running small businesses.

"I was great to have those interested beekeepers there," Ms Martin said.

"But there are around 10,000 beekeepers in Queensland ranging from people who have one or two hives in their backyard to commercial operators with 1000 to 2000 hives which are trucked around to assist with pollinating.

"The top end of town which comprises the state's 400 larger commercial operations are very well aware of threats such as Varroa mite and Asian honeybee, but we really need to encourage those smaller business and hobbyists to be better informed."

Ms Martin said she hoped a larger percentage would attend their second webinar on April 17.

"It has been estimated to cost $150 per hive to treat them for Varroa mite for three to four treatments per year," she said.

"Because of our climate we will need to 'rotate' our treatments between synthetic options and organic options to keep the mite below treatment thresholds and in a number of instances we may need to treat more than six to seven times a year."

Ms Martin said the information shared at the free webinar could be vital to assisting apiarists deal with threats to their hive - and wallet.

The next webinar will share important information on Varroa mite (Varroa jacobsoni) and Asian honey bee, what was discovered at the Port of Brisbane and the movement control order, current surveillance activities being undertaken and how you can help," she said.

"I cannot stress the importance of all beekeepers staying well informed as we are in a changing pest climate and the most important thing you can do as a beekeeper is to sign up for the BQ free e-alert and get regular and consistent updates.

"Whether we like it or not, Varroa mite is here to stay and if beekeepers are not protecting their hives then we will see significant issues with it in bee populations.

"Bee populations which are not managed in the natural environment will be the first to succumb and we will be plagued by Varroa mite for a good decade."

Back at the Wilson Beekeeping Co hives, the butcher by day, the self-declared "hobby beekeeper", said he regularly checked his brood.

"I have them up in the bush away from the urban environment, this keeps them from coming into contact with urban pests," Mr Wilson said.

"At the moment I am concerned about small hive beetle, we lost three hives to it but I am on top of it now.

"It's very important to be aware of pests which can impact your bees."

The next BQ webinar is on Wednesday 17 April 2024, from 6pm to 7pm via the link here.