Varroa mite – frequently asked questions

Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is a serious, exotic parasite of adult European honey bees and their brood. It weakens and kills honey bee colonies and can also transmit honeybee viruses.

Varroa destructor is a distinctive-looking small mite, around 1 mm in diameter.

Mites are easily identifiable to the naked eye and are a reddish-brown colour.

Detailed descriptions are available on the About Varroa mite of honey bees page.

Varroa mites are very mobile and readily transfer between adult bees.

Varroa mites spread between colonies and apiaries when hive components, infested brood and adult bees are interchanged during normal apiary management practices.

The transport of hives used beekeeping equipment and queen bees by beekeepers is also a very effective means of spread. In Australia, the spread of Varroa mite is expected to be fast over long distances because of the migratory nature of the beekeeping industry.

Foraging and drifting bees and swarms can also spread Varroa mite. Heavily infested bees may abscond as a swarm. In the case of foraging bees, mites can move from the bee to a flower and then hitch a ride with another bee or insect visiting the same flower.

Beekeepers who detect or suspect Varroa mite is present in their hives in Victoria are required to notify immediately via:

• their BeeMAX profile by creating a Varroa inspection event in their beekeeper diary. This will send a notification of the presence of Varroa to an Agriculture Victoria Apiary Officer, or
• the Emergency Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.

In Victoria the Emergency Plant Pest Hotline is staffed from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 10 am to 6 pm on weekends and public holidays. Please leave a message outside of these hours.

You may be asked to provide photos, collect a sample or provide further information about your hive.

Once Varroa is confirmed, registered beekeepers will be put in touch with Bee Biosecurity Officers who can assist with advice about ongoing Varroa management.

Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) was reported in sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle in New South Wales (NSW) on Friday 24 June 2022. The detection was the result of routine surveillance on sentinel hives by NSW bee biosecurity officers.

Varroa mite has since spread across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT. Read more on the National Varroa Mite Management Program website.

The National Management Group has agreed that the eradication of Varroa mite is no longer technically feasible; we now need to work collaboratively to manage and minimise its impact.

Agriculture Victoria confirmed the first Varroa mite detection in Victoria on 14 August 2024 at a property in Nangiloc near Mildura.

Since the initial detection, Varroa has been detected at further locations detailed on the Victorian Varroa map on BeeMAX. This was developed to provide early warning and enable beekeepers to undertake extra monitoring and preparatory activities.

The national Transition to Management Program ended in February 2026. Agriculture Victoria continues to work with industry and government partners to reduce the impact of Varroa on Victoria.

This includes investing a further $3.2 million in the 2025-2027 Victorian Varroa Transition Program to continue to support beekeepers in building Varroa management capability, to enhance preparedness across the apiary and horticulture sectors, and safeguard pollination services essential to agricultural productivity.

The Victorian program delivers activities through:

• Two full-time Biosecurity Beekeeping Officers (BBO’s) delivering Varroa management training and chemical use guidance,
• A Horticulture Sector Officer that supports pollination-dependent industries, and
• A Chemical Surveillance Design Officer to develop a risk-based Varroa chemical management plan and residue testing program to ensure safe, high-quality bee products.

Registered beekeepers can continue to access support from Victorian Bee Biosecurity Officers (BBOs) who can assist beekeepers with developing the skills and knowledge to manage Varroa and maintain healthy beehives. BBOs can assist with surveillance techniques, integrated pest management including mechanical and chemical treatment options and preparing a management plan that will fit into your business's seasonal demands.

Victoria continues to work with other States and territories, the Australian Government and industry around Varroa mite impacts, through the National Bee Biosecurity Program and National Bee Pest Surveillance Program.

Beekeepers looking for support and advice about Varroa should contact a Victorian Bee Biosecurity Officer on 136 186 or honeybee.biosecurity@agriculture.vic.gov.au

For more information about monitoring,reporting and training visit the National Varroa Mite Management webpage.

To maximise the chances of early detection, the current surveillance recommendation in Victoria is to use drone uncapping (where possible), PLUS the alcohol/soapy water wash or sugar shake method, 4 times per year, in each apiary that you manage.

It is important to note that once Varroa becomes endemic to your area, it is recommended to increase testing to every 4 weeks to detect varroa in hives early.

• For apiaries with <10 hives test all hives
• For apiaries with >10 hives sample 10 or more hives

As per the Biosecurity Code of Practice, beekeepers are required to test a minimum of one hive per apiary, twice a year, 4 months apart.

We continue to ask beekeepers to submit all test results on BeeMAX.

For advice or support with Varroa surveillance or entering your results, please contact a Victorian Bee Biosecurity Officer on 136 186 or honeybee.biosecurity@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

If varroa is present, check mite numbers before using any chemicals to see if mite numbers have reached management threshold.

Once the threshold for treatment has been reached, check mite numbers again during and after any chemical treatments to ensure that they are working, or whether further action is needed.

In some regions hives have been rapidly reinfested by mites from unmanaged European honeybee colonies, causing a huge increase in mite numbers within weeks. With high mite loads, hives have declined rapidly.

Where resistant mites have spread, the  mites will not respond to synthetic chemical treatments to bring the numbers down as expected.

For more information on monitoring and thresholds see Monitoring — National Varroa Mite Management Program

Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) permits are now in place for legal use of Varroa mite treatments in Victoria.

It is important to remember that treatments should only be implemented when Varroa mite management thresholds are exceeded. This will minimise miticide resistance and should be part of your integrated pest management (IPM) strategy.

For more information on monitoring and thresholds see Monitoring — National Varroa Mite Management Program

The information from the National Varroa Mite training workshops has a strong focus on IPM and how chemical treatments fit into a control strategy. Although all 100 workshops have now been delivered, the training material is still available to download.   The AHBIC website has some useful information on miticide use for your reference.

AHBIC Varroa Chemical Treatment Table - Australian Honey Bee Industry Council

The APVMA permits allow these otherwise unregistered products to be used in Australia. Chemical users must follow the instructions on the relevant APVMA permit. Once products are registered with the APVMA, they will receive Australian labels which will be available on the  PubCRIS database. At this time, chemical users must follow the product label.

Varroa treatments are agricultural and veterinary chemicals,  and their use must be recorded and available if requested by an Agriculture Victoria Biosecurity Officer. Use the record keeping template  for

• Treatment of bees and beekeeping equipment [MS Word Document - 198.1 KB]

Miticide resistance has been found in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.

In May 2026, Agriculture Victoria confirmed that Varroa mites in a Victorian apiary are resistant to pyrethroid treatments. This affects the use of the products Bayvarol and Apistan. In early June, results from further testing confirmed the same mites are also resistant to formamidine based products (Apivar and Apitraz).

This news came after reports that these treatments were not working to control varroa mite numbers as expected.

For more information see Miticide resistance in Varroa mites: What Victorian beekeepers need to know.

The State Quarantine Response Team is extremely valuable to Agriculture Victoria, the beekeeping industry and the agriculture sector as it provides a large pool of trained in-hive surveillance experts, who are confident in handling bees, and ready to be called on as part of a honeybee response.

SQRT members conduct in-hive surveillance and participate in the government’s preparedness and response to biosecurity incursions such as Varroa mite.

Agriculture Victoria’s SQRT members work alongside authorised biosecurity officers in field teams to conduct in-hive surveillance.

Being part of the SQRT is a partnership between Agriculture Victoria and the Victorian honeybee industry. The program was created in Victoria and is now being implemented in other states across Australia.

If you are experienced in beekeeping and want to join the SQRT team, you will be required to complete the Victorian Honeybee SQRT Training course. The self-paced e-Learning course will inform you of the expectations required of you as a SQRT team member to actively participate in a response effectively. Sign up here: learning.agriculture.vic.gov.au

This link will take you directly to the course via a ‘Sign Up’ form.

When signing up, you must select “I need to access honeybee preparedness training” in the section “Why are you here”. The training will then appear directly in your Dashboard and Goal Centre.

If you have any problems accessing the training please email honeybee.biosecurity@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Yes, SQRT positions are paid to support Agriculture Victoria’s surveillance team when they are deployed.

When you apply you’ll be requested to complete some ‘employee’ paperwork, such as a police check, providing your COVID certificate, a pre-employment form, WorkSafe, etc.

Completing this employment paperwork as fast as possible is imperative to ensure you are ready to go and can be deployed.

There are currently 181 fully trained SQRT members. SQRT members were deployed to both the 2018 Varroa detection, and the 2022-2023 Victorian Varroa response. Many SQRT team members were also voluntarily deployed to the NSW Varroa response.

Victoria is not currently deploying SQRT members for Varroa surveillance in Victoria, but they remain an important work-force resource for future exotic incursions of bee pests and diseases.

For further information on being part of the SQRT team contact: Honeybee.Biosecurity@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

For anyone who is not part of the SQRT program, you can be involved in early detection of varroa mite by conducting mite testing and reporting your findings. Remember, recording negative results is important.

Report any suspect Varroa mite or any other plant pest or disease immediately to the national Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881 or make a report via our online form with photo (where possible).

In Victoria this hotline is staffed 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am to 6 pm on weekends and public holidays - please leave a message outside these hours.

Report Varroa mite online.