A tiny pest is continuing to create major challenges for Australian beekeepers, with consumers likely to notice the price of honey creeping up as as a result.

The varroa mite, described by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) as “the most damaging pest of honey bees globally”, first appeared in NSW in 2022 and has since been detected in South Australia, Victoria, the ACT and Queensland.

When efforts to eradicate it nationally failed, a management plan was introduced that includes the use of chemical insecticides.

However, in recent months pyrethroid-resistant varroa have been confirmed in south-east Queensland and northern NSW. The AHBIC also revealed this month that the same populations have also been found to have resistance to amitraz, one of the key chemicals used to control the mites.

“Beekeepers have been through a lot, and this isn’t good news,” Biosecurity Queensland’s Robert Stephens told the ABC last week.

“But it is a wake-up call … beekeepers need to follow best practice when managing varroa, particularly by rotating chemical treatments every time they treat.”

The varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is a “distinctive-looking small mite, around a millimetre in diameter, reddish-brown in colour and can be seen with the naked eye”, according to the Australian Government’s “Outbreak” website.

It attacks both European honey bees and the Asian honey bee, but not Australian native bees.

“The mite attaches itself to the bee and feeds on them. It weakens them and kills colonies,” the site says.

According to a nine.com.au report last week, the increased costs faced by beekeepers have contributed to an rise in Australian honey prices of 15-25 per cent.

One family-owned Queensland business that increased its honey price by 10 per cent last year said its operating costs had actually risen by 30 to 50 per cent, adding that the cost of varroa mite treatment and control alone had been estimated at $100 per hive.

AHBIC CEO Danny LeFeuvre said last month that along with varroa management, “seasonal conditions and ongoing cost pressures” were also challenging Australian beekeepers’ profitability.

“Honey production appears to be average to well below average across most areas,” LeFeuvre said, while also noting the impact of the fuel crisis on the industry.

“Small increases in honey prices have been welcomed by many but for some the price is almost irrelevant if they don’t have any to sell.”

In a separate statement earlier in the month, the AHBIC criticised the federal government’s final report on the investigation into the varroa mite incursion, saying beekeepers were frustrated that it failed to determine how the mite entered Australia.

“Beekeepers have waited nearly four years for answers … this report unfortunately fails to provide those answers,” Le Feuvre said, adding that it also raised broader concerns about the country’s biosecurity system.

A varroa mite visible on a dead bee in a hive. Photo: AP

Le Feuvre said those involved in the Australian honey bee industry – which produces about 37,000 tonnes of honey annually and is worth about $270 million – had been dealing with the consequences of the mite incursion since 2022.

Thousands of hives have been destroyed, and many beekeepers have left the industry.

“For many in the industry this has been a devastating period,” Le Feuvre said.

“Colonies were destroyed, businesses disrupted and confidence in the biosecurity system shaken.”

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is continuing to investigate the resistance to insecticide treatment among some mites to see if it developed locally – which can occur with repeated use of the same chemical – or if there has been a “new incursion” of varroa into Australia.

In an article published last year on The Conversation, researchers Cornelia Sattler and Théotime Colin warned that backyard beekeepers should also be alert for signs of both mites and another destructive pest, the small hive beetle.

The pair also urged consumers to support Australia’s beekeepers by buying 100 per cent Australian honey and hive products from trusted local sources.

“Avoid imported honey and bee products to reduce the chance of bringing bee viruses into the country,” they wrote. “Not all imported bee products are treated to kill bee viruses.”