CBIF Southern Beekeepers Association Toowoomba workshop

Industry-led varroa mite solutions funded by Queensland grants

by Karen Hartley
Senior Project Officer - Grants Administration VMIRI

When the people who are directly involved and impacted by a problem are asked what the solutions are, you can assume those will be the best options to take. This is the approach that Queensland Department of Primary Industries’ Community Bee Innovation Fund grant program took. We asked industry to apply for grant funding to undertake innovative projects that would help solve the challenges that varroa mite presents. There were two caveats – firstly, the projects needed to be innovative and secondly, the projects needed to focus on either varroa mite education/engagement or monitoring/management.

The Community Bee Innovation Fund grant program was designed to encourage industry-led solutions. With no silver bullet solution identified, rather than funding a single $500,000 project and hoping it provides what the industry needs, the program was designed to fund numerous smaller projects up to $50,000 each that contribute to addressing the varroa mite challenges.

All 16 projects are Queensland focused however, some projects have online components, allowing for a broader audience. In-person projects are being held across Queensland locations including the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Lockyer Valley, Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Southern Downs, Ipswich, Stanthorpe, Townsville, Herbert-Burdekin, Charters Towers, and Gulf Savannah. The projects carry a completion date of 30 April 2027.

A panel of experts from research, science, government, beekeeping and education backgrounds were selected to assess the grant applications.

DMK SCU 3 600 — Associate Professor Volker Herzig from Sunshine Coast University is researching spider venom to treat Varroa mites with a grant from Queensland Government

This panel drew on its extensive knowledge of varroa mite, its impacts, and how the beekeeping and pollination-reliant industries operate to make valuable decisions on which grant applications would result in the most benefits for the majority of Queenslanders impacted by varroa mite.

Queensland’s unique approach to providing a grant program as part of the strategy to manage the impacts of varroa mite is proving an effective method to ensure industry is leading the way and taking charge of its own destiny. The 16 successful grant projects are underway with all three rounds now awarded.

Two projects being undertaken by the University of the Sunshine Coast are specifically research focused, investigating two different methods that could potentially kill varroa mites whilst not impacting bees. Although these projects may not yield immediate solutions, the research undertaken to date is promising, and there is value in assisting researchers to continue progressing towards potential varroa mite treatment solutions.

Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society Training Workshop 600 — Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society training workshop

Several grant projects involve hands-on in-apiary demonstrations to train beekeepers how to monitor varroa mite and how and when to use the various management strategies. This exchange of knowledge is vital for beekeepers, assisting them in learning from each other to understand the risks and confidently create an integrated pest management plan. These projects are being undertaken by Queensland Beekeepers Association Inc, Southern Beekeepers Association (Queensland) Inc, Northern Gulf Resource Management Group Ltd and Team-Australia Group Pty Ltd.

Education projects also demonstrate and train beekeepers in the use of alternative management options including brood interruptions, queen rearing, queen containment, drone frames, and varroa heat controllers. Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society Inc, Townsville and District Beekeepers Association Inc, and Ipswich and West Moreton Beekeepers Association Inc are leading these projects.

Education is a primary key to building beekeepers’ capabilities and confidence. A project led by Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society Inc is delivering a mentoring program to upskill beekeepers to become leaders and teach other beekeepers the skills required to successfully manage varroa mite.

A couple of projects are encouraging education by engaging people online. For example, a series of varroa mite documentary-style films are being produced, online varroa mite articles, webinars, and an online varroa mite management hub. This hub will become a trusted source of training, factsheets, guides, emerging research, and videos of varroa mite experts presenting at conferences. These engagement styles ensure varroa mite information and resources reach a variety of stakeholders, creating reliable sources of information rather than trying to decipher what is applicable from the vast quantity of information available online. Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers Ltd, Farmgate Honey Australia Pty Ltd, and Berries Australia Ltd are leading these online engagement projects.

Education beyond beekeepers is also occurring with some projects specifically targeting pollination-reliant and horticultural industries. These projects aim to raise awareness across industries on the periphery of the varroa mite situation, dealing with the secondary impacts of varroa mite on crop production. They will provide education on the impacts of varroa mite and facilitate discussions between beekeepers and growers. The focus of the conversations is to establish a mutual understanding of the roles beekeepers and growers play to ensure bees are healthy to undertake pollination. With varroa mite resulting in pollination services becoming vital for pollination-reliant growers, these relationships are increasingly important. Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers Ltd, Berries Australia Ltd, Northern Gulf Resource Management Group Ltd, and Nursery & Garden Industry Qld Ltd are leading these projects.

Projects led by Southern Beekeepers Association (Queensland) Inc and Queensland Beekeepers Association Inc promote regional approaches to varroa mite management. This is important given Queensland’s climate diversity across the state, and it is particularly important with the emergence of miticide resistance requiring a coordinated approach to chemical use.

Congratulations to all the grant recipients who are undertaking these valuable projects.

Organisation	Project scope
Queensland Beekeepers Association Inc.	The Queensland Beekeepers Association will ensure the latest varroa mite information is freely available to all Queensland beekeepers and will provide practical in-apiary varroa mite training events.
Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society Inc.	Through free training events, the Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society will increase the capability of Queensland beekeepers to incorporate biotechnical management options (i.e. brood interruptions and queen rearing) into their varroa mite integrated pest management strategies.
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers Ltd.	Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers Ltd. will facilitate a series of varroa mite workshops to meet a need to support pollination-reliant growers. Queensland pollination-reliant growers will be engaged and educated about the varroa mite life cycle, the pest's impact on bees, pollination, produce yield and quality, and how growers can actively engage in partnerships with beekeepers for pollination services.
Southern Beekeepers Association (Queensland) Inc.	Queensland beekeepers and the public will be actively engaged and educated about the seriousness and management of varroa mite by the Southern Beekeepers Association (Qld) Inc. The organisation will host free practical field days and attend community events to encourage widespread understanding and best practice monitoring and management.
Farmgate Honey Australia Pty Ltd.	Short documentary style varroa mite awareness films will be created and distributed to engage Queensland beekeepers, pollination-dependent industries, broader agricultural communities, and the public.
Townsville and District Beekeepers Association Inc.	Events will be held across the regional centres of Townsville, the Herbert-Burdekin area and west to the Charters Towers area demonstrating how to use varroa controller units.
Ipswich and West Moreton Beekeepers Association Inc.	Varroa mite management field days will be held in Queensland focused on teaching mechanical control methods including queen containment cages and drone frames.
Berries Australia Ltd.	Varroa mite focus groups made up of Queensland berry growers and beekeepers will be established and coordinated. Focus group events will be held in the regions of south east Queensland, Stanthorpe and Bundaberg. Varroa mite articles and educational resources will be created and made freely available.
Gold Coast Amateur Beekeepers Society Inc.	A varroa mite mentor upskill program will be developed and delivered to Queensland beekeepers who will then become leaders in varroa mite management and skilled to teach others.
Northern Gulf Resource Management Group Ltd.	Workshops focusing on varroa mite information relevant to beekeepers and pollination-reliant growers will be delivered in the northern Gulf region of Queensland. For those unable to attend, a varroa mite training package will be made freely available for use.
Nursery & Garden Industry Qld Ltd	An educational tour of a Queensland production nursery will be undertaken focusing on varroa mite awareness, preparedness and management within pollination-reliant horticultural systems.
Team-Australia Group Pty Ltd	Practical varroa mite workshops in Westbrook and Kooroongarra will target beekeepers, pollination-reliant industries, and broader community stakeholders.
University of the Sunshine Coast	Research will be conducted to develop precision double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) solutions that can potentially selectively target varroa mites without effects on honeybees.
Southern Beekeepers Association (Queensland) Inc.	Varroa mite training and regional resistance management workshops will be freely available. Public events will be attended with the aim of improving the general public’s awareness of the impacts of varroa mite.
Queensland Beekeepers Association Inc.	Develop six regional varroa management plans and present them at workshops. Provide twenty individualised varroa mite treatment planning consultations to Queensland stakeholders.
University of the Sunshine Coast	Research will be conducted to identify and test spider venom-derived peptide formulations that can potentially provide targeted control of varroa mites in honeybee colonies.