Dr Sandra McDougall1, Dr Chris Anderson1, Dr Shannon Mulholland1, Dr Catherine Fraser1, Mr Lloyd Kingham1, Dr Nathan Cutter1, Dr Patsavee Utaipanon1, Dr Ken Nguyen1

1NSW Department of Primary Industries, Yanco, Australia

Biography:

Dr Sandra McDougall held various roles during the Varroa mite emergency response, including planning support and subsequently as Incident Controller or Deputy Incident Controller. She previously led the successful NSW/ACT Khapra beetle emergency response 2020-2022. Prior to being involved in plant biosecurity responses she was a research team leader for irrigated agriculture and has led integrated pest management research in horticulture, primarily vegetables and cotton crops in Australia and SE Asia.

Abstract:

Australia is the last continent to be colonised by the most significant European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) pest, Varroa destructor. (Anderson & Trueman). On 22 June 2022 suspect mites were found within sentinel hives located at the Port of Newcastle and subsequently confirmed as Varroa destructor. Significant efforts had been put into the preparation for such an event and allowed the largest plant biosecurity response to be mounted in Australia to attempt to eradicate the pest. Initially a 100-day response plan was approved by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, the 15 pollination dependent industries’, Commonwealth, State and Territory representatives under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed. NSW Department of Primary Industries, as lead agency enacted hive movement controls, put in place 10 km eradication and 25 km surveillance emergency management zones, and coordinated large numbers of personnel from NSW government agencies, volunteer beekeepers and NSW Rural Fire Service to implement the nationally agreed response plan. This presentation will outline the 15-month eradication phase, and the decision to transition to management, and cover what we know and don’t know about the impact of the varroa mite under Australian conditions.