WA bees: Desperate SA Almond grower recruits 33.5 million bees to save trees affected by varroa destructor

As a destructive bee pest spreads across the eastern states, an almond grower with a dwindling yield is banking on WA as a safe haven to rear 33.5 million bees. Australia relies on European honeybees not just to pollinate non-native flowers, but our entire food security relies on a healthy honeybee population; fruit trees, berries, avocados, zucchinis, pumpkins, and somewhat surprisingly, nuts. Almonds are one of the most pollination-dependent crops in the country. An almond grower from South Australia, who has requested to stay anonymous, suspects a bee-killing mite may have infected the bees they rely on to pollinate the almond trees in July 2025. They have now launched a $4 million project to pay for and distribute 6700 beehives across Western Australia into the safe hands of trusted West Aussie apiarists. With 5000 bees planned to be reared in each of the 6700 hives from February to July, that’s approximately 33.5 million West Aussie bees that will be transported to South Australia. It’s a one way journey that the bees won’t return from. The question is, why is this almond farmer so desperate to recruit West Aussie bees? It is due to a tiny reddish brown parasite called a varroa destructor mite, that is about the size of a small grain of rice. First detected in Australia in New South Wales in 2022, it has now spread into Victoria, the ACT and SA. WA has become the nation’s last major varroa-free stronghold. The varroa mite is an external parasite that attacks the European honeybees. Adult female varroa mites lay their eggs inside hive brood cells, feeding on developing larvae and pupae, often leaving bees with deformed wings and bodies when they emerge. The parasites also feed on adult bees. Eventually, the varroa mite causes a complete collapse of a honey bee colony. Deadly for bees and devastating for the almond trees that depend on them, the almond grower has invested millions of dollars to try and get the bee populations around the almond orchards healthy again, by building distributing new beehives and paying for bees to be reared across WA. Queen breeder Steve Sammut has played a key role in the effort, helping coordinate the construction for many of the hives in his workshop before transporting them to beekeepers scattered across the state. “The procurement team at the grower have found the beekeepers, then gone and bought all the frames, all the plastic foundations to make the hives... they’ve also bankrolled the beekeepers. They’ve paid a 10 per cent deposit on order. So they’re being very supportive,” he said. The 12 beekeepers are scattered across WA — including sites at Jarradale, Gingin, as far south as Goldfields and as far north as Cervantes. Once the hives have been dropped, the beekeepers will rear 5000 bees per hive until July when they are picked up and make the one way journey to SA, transferred through a no-contact drop off, and destined to pollinate almond trees and never return to WA. This bold and costly move by the almond grower highlights WA’s unique advantage in turning the State’s varroa‑free status into a commercial strength. With the majority of food Aussies enjoy eating reliant on pollination, it is not only almond producers feeling the strain. In November 2025, an apple grower in Bilpin, NSW, reported that only five to 10 per cent of the usual apples were left on the trees. Dr Tierney, who studies orchards in Bilpin, told the ABC that while there was no proven link, he had noticed a sharp decline in bee numbers since the outbreak. “The number of honey bees are down by around 80 per cent and that’s probably because of varroa mite knocking out feral bee colonies,” he said. Mr Sammut told The West Australian that some interstate growers still depend on feral honey bees; European bees that have escaped managed hives and formed wild colonies. Although they offer cheap pollination, these feral populations exist at unusually high densities and act as reservoirs for pests and diseases such as varroa. Dr John Roberts, who leads CSIRO’s bee pathology research, estimates that if feral colonies receive no treatment then 90 to 100 per cent of feral colonies will collapse once varroa spreads through them. As the mites overrun these unmanaged hives, they release infected bees into the landscape, effectively turning feral colonies into what Mr Sammut calls “mitebombs”. Mr Sammut elaborated that if the mite got into WA then our most precious bee-related products such as organic honey and chemical-free beeswax all “go out the window”. At around $50 a hive to use miticide to control a varroa, the management becomes exhausting and uneconomical for most apiarists. “We have got a real chance of keeping varroa out (in WA). It’s imperative that we keep it out. We’re seeing people exit the industry over there (in the eastern states). A lot of people would be like ‘yeah sorry’ it just takes all the fun out of beekeeping,” he said. A spokesperson from DPIRD told The West Australian that WA remains free from varroa mite “thanks to our strict quarantine, strong partnerships with the state’s bee industry and our natural geographic borders”. “DPIRD’s State-wide bee surveillance program includes more than 40 sentinel hives located at strategic sites from Derby to Esperance. To support early detection and varroa preparedness, DPIRD works with the bee industry, both nationally and locally,” they said. Any suspected detections of varroa or other exotic bee pests must be reported immediately by calling the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.