Beno
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Post by Beno on Jun 24, 2022 19:24:09 GMT 10
Wow wee! it looks like varroa mite is now here. Far out how any more dodgy imports can this country afford? Asian bee Indian house crow Covid 19 Monkey pox invasive molluscs from ship ballast Japanese encephalitis. Asian tiger mosquito insert your info here….
We are under constant threat. Go watch that show on ch7 about border security. Our most recent “citizens” don’t give a crap about our primary industries and constantly bring in all sorts of junk . I know of a storey about an old mate who like some grass from the US and introduced it to Au under his belt through quarantine. I guess the term “one planet” is literal.
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Post by spinifex on Jun 24, 2022 20:32:37 GMT 10
Its really a struggle with keeping nasties out. Others pressing in on our agriculture include: African Swine Fever - in PNG and tons of infected pork being seized every month at borders Asian paddle crab (already here and a big potential threat to our blue swimmer crabs) Japanese encephalitis (already here) Russian wheat aphid (recent arrival in last few years) med fruit fly - now a constant battle for SA to keep it out of our state.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Jun 27, 2022 17:58:34 GMT 10
They have started eradicating hives in the local area. hopefully it’s not too late to prevent it’s spread but my experience says this won’t end well. I feel for those in the firing line and losing hives and income.
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Post by Joey on Jun 27, 2022 18:58:32 GMT 10
Invasive pests would be reduced a fair bit if we had a blanket ban on ALL imported fruit/veg/meat/seafood. As an island nation with a very large percentage of arable land, we are in the perfect position to have pest-free food in the world.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Jun 27, 2022 19:44:04 GMT 10
And then there's those arab pest imports that form gangs and shoot up western Sydney.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Jun 29, 2022 7:46:16 GMT 10
I heard they have spread to approx an hours drive to the north and nw. They can destroy production hives bit good luck checking every wild hive between the three locations.
Our area has had a boot load of feral pigs come in. Those little buggers can spread disease pretty well. I might have to increase my wild pork intake! Deer are a couple of years away too, a delectable mixed grill.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Jun 29, 2022 8:36:39 GMT 10
The bio security order has now been put in place and will last for 6 months. Not only does it prohibit the movement of bees around NSW, but also you cant harvest honey, re queen, split boxes, feed the bees, or carry out any other normal tasks to your bees. Inspections for the mite are allowed, and apparently you can move boxes around on the same property. She who must be obeyed says its a great way to decimate this industry as well. Veroa mite can be controlled, as has been done overseas with Oxcilic acid, but its not easy. Luckily its winter and the bees are not to busy, but, with the wet weather we had, access to the boxes was impossible and hence honey was not removed before winter, so they are pretty well full and come warmer weather, will swarm and spread the problem. Answer to solving this problem ? I don't know.
Imagination is our only weapon against reality.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Jun 29, 2022 11:01:04 GMT 10
The bio security order has now been put in place and will last for 6 months. Not only does it prohibit the movement of bees around NSW, but also you cant harvest honey, re queen, split boxes, feed the bees, or carry out any other normal tasks to your bees. Inspections for the mite are allowed, and apparently you can move boxes around on the same property. She who must be obeyed says its a great way to decimate this industry as well. Veroa mite can be controlled, as has been done overseas with Oxcilic acid, but its not easy. Luckily its winter and the bees are not to busy, but, with the wet weather we had, access to the boxes was impossible and hence honey was not removed before winter, so they are pretty well full and come warmer weather, will swarm and spread the problem. Answer to solving this problem ? I don't know. Imagination is our only weapon against reality. How the heck are they going to control mites in wild hives? It is going to be a case of getting used to liveing with varroa. Apparently the increased spread was in transported hives.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Jun 29, 2022 12:15:57 GMT 10
Ive just been talking with a fellow aiperist and he says his boxes are on the Maccas at present, then in 2 or 3 weeks its almonds. Hope you have enough almond milk stored for several years. yes, veroa can and has been 'controlled' in other countries. Capilano honey is mostly imported from overseas, New Zealand, and they have veroa. Just saying..... Mine are all at home here, but some were due to go to the maccas this week. This is gong to cost someone a lot. The mite will control itself in wild or feral bees, by causing them all to die out over the next few years. The only bees left will be the farmed honey bee, and native bees, which are apparently too small for the veroa mite to worry. Other countries deal with veroa using a number of chemicals, oxilic acid etc, we might end up having to do the same.
Is it progress when a cannibal uses a knife and fork ?
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Jun 29, 2022 16:36:02 GMT 10
Good info thanks. a couple more questions. What do you think will happen to small operators or people like yourself? Will you still bee able to produce decent quality and quantity honey without chems? Is getting into bees something new starters should even bother with at the moment?
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Jun 29, 2022 16:58:48 GMT 10
I really dont know. The oxilic acid treatment does work, and has to be done when there is little brood in the hive, winter say. It can be dribbled down the frames or fed in as a vapor and there are devices available to do that, at a price. Veroa doesn't exist in the honey supers, it only affects the brood, so honey produced will be safe, and anyway, a strainer will take it out, or letting the spun out honey sit for a while,it will float to the surface, like wax does.
Yes, there are 'natural ways to eradicate, or at least control veroa. Some essential oils will control it, but not eradicate it as Oxilic acid is claimed to do.
The DPI better think long and hard about these restrictions. Forbidding the extraction of honey from the supers, as they have done, will result in massive swarms when the weather starts to warm up, spreading it even faster. There is research being done to breed queen strains that are veroa resistant, but they also seem to be livelier than our Italian strains.
If it gets away, and I personally think it cant be contained, then the mite will wipe out the feral bee colony's, making the honey bee extremely valuable for pollination services.
There is also some evidence to suggest that the bumble bee has mite resistance, and native bees are mostly too small to be affected.
From the net
"What is the best varroa mite treatment? The most popular essential oil for varroa mite control is thymol (from a thyme plant). While thymol treatment can effectively control mites on adult bees, it cannot penetrate the cell cappings, so does not control mites in brood cells. Efficacy of thymol is dependent on colony strength as well as ambient conditions."
"Can you eat honey treated with oxalic acid? No implication at all. The honey is not at all unsafe to consume. The treatment for varroa mites using oxalic acid is permitted by the EPA with a condition that supers not be in place during the treatment process."
"How do you get rid of varroa mites naturally?
Food grade mineral oil in a propane fogger – the mineral oil coats the bees and mites causing the bees to groom each other and the mites to fall off. Powdered sugar – the powdered sugar works in effect like the mineral oil."
This one is interesting. "What temperature kills varroa mites? If we expose the mite to the temperature of 40°C (104°F) to 47°C (116.6°F) for around 150 minutes, the mite is killed. That is valid for all the development stages of the Varroa destructor mite."
"Just for perspective a three ounce serving of spinach has about 0.75 grams of oxalic acid in it. I happen to like spinach. I could see myself eating at least a two ounce serving. I can not see myself eating a pound and a half serving of honey which might have about that same amount of oxalic acid in it after treatment."
This is not my advice, but just cut and pasted from the net, so check it up yourself.
Unfortunately, the horse has bolted, So, its going to be an issue, and I believe we will need to come to grips with it and manage it, as other countries have already had to do.
As for getting into bees, its not even possible at present due to the restrictions, but to supply yourself and family/friends with honey is a good idea.
Is this yours ? Your dog left it on my lawn.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Jun 30, 2022 15:40:54 GMT 10
Thanks.
Japanese encephalitis has been found in wild pigs in FNQ. There is no getting rid of the disease now.
Indonesia is battling foot n mouth. Lots of nasties on our doorstep.
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Post by spinifex on Jul 4, 2022 19:57:00 GMT 10
I heard they have spread to approx an hours drive to the north and nw. They can destroy production hives bit good luck checking every wild hive between the three locations. Yep. If its already been detected at a location an hours drive away from the original site ... its never being eradicated. Varroa is now endemic in Australia. The solution is likely in genetics and breeding resistant lines. For too long bees have been selectively bred for two main traits: honey yield and docility. In sheep and cattle breeding there is now a slowly building trend to develop genetic lines that have disease and parasite resistance as core selective traits. www.science.org/content/article/scientists-breed-honey-bees-fight-deadly-parasite
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Jul 5, 2022 11:19:33 GMT 10
Pssstttt: We have always had veroa, its just been low key.....
Think about this. When the wild, or feral bees are wiped out by veroa, then those who have fruit trees and other things that need pollination in their gardens, will have their harvest fail. Unless there is a managed hive around you, most garden crops rely on pollination of the wild bees to work. Yes, the native bees (over 200 species) do do some, but they only like the smaller flowers. And yes, there is some pollination by insects, but its not gunna be enough. So, the NWO has struck again in the quest to make us all dependent on their system and hence have control over you with the food supply. Add foot and mouth disease knocking on our northern door, and if there is a slight laxness from the import officers, its game over. And don't even think about the possibility of spreading whatever people bring in from overseas. The collapse is close now.
It wasn't me, I didn't do it, you cant prove it, and besides, no one saw me, and it was an accident.
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spatial
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Post by spatial on Jul 5, 2022 11:29:14 GMT 10
Varroa mite detection in Narrabri, NSW Department of Primary Industries From a dormant transported hive.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Jul 6, 2022 18:18:10 GMT 10
Abc foot and mouth
Looks like they are getting serious with the foot n mouth issue. Bali is now a hotspot in Indo and anyone coming back from there are getting extra biosecurity checks.
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