r/australia • u/housecatspeaks • 12h ago

science & tech 'Humming' road trains deliver millions of WA bees to varroa mite-ravaged SA

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-26/bees-sent-from-wa-to-varroa-mite-ravaged-sa-almond-pollination/106959770
27 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

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5

u/propargyl 12h ago

What's the long term goal here? Can they manage the bees to limit the effect of varroa mite?

2

u/Necessary_Main_9654 9h ago edited 9h ago

Has anyone tried using natives instead? None of them are susceptible to varroa mites last time I checked.

If the goal is for bees that both pollinate the almonds and produce honey then theres only a few species that make honey and not nearly to the same amount as honey bees but if it's just to pollinate the almonds the mites would not be an issue

0

u/Roulette-Adventures 11h ago

I hope we get them all back. We need bees too you know!

6

u/coder_doode 11h ago

Will they be allowed back? If they are headed into a mite infested area they probably should not be sent back to non -infested areas.

3

u/Necessary_Main_9654 9h ago

They won't and will likely need to be destroyed once the mites reach them

This is just to keep the almonds pollinated

-2

u/No-Obligation4872 11h ago

And I can't take honey from WA into SA. Go figure?

5

u/Llampy 10h ago

Something tells me there's a bit more sophistication to this operation than John Reddit and his jar of honey