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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Damon Cronshaw

Varroa mite found in the Hunter again

Beekeeper Neil Livingstone in Newcastle. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

Two new detections of varroa mite have been made at Cessnock and Tea Gardens, NSW Department of Primary Industries said.

The cases bring the total number of infected premises to 114, since the parasite was first identified at the Port of Newcastle last June.

NSW DPI's Satendra Kumar said one of the detections fell within the red eradication zone in Cessnock, while the other was was in the purple surveillance zone at Tea Gardens.

"The new detections are not unexpected with the level of surveillance work being carried out in the purple zones, where response teams have tested more than 33,000 hives on top of the 102,000 that have been tested by beekeepers," Mr Kumar said.

One of the new cases was self-reported, which was "encouraging to see", as industry "continues with their high levels of surveillance".

It is mandatory for beekeepers to do "alcohol washes at least every 16 weeks" to test for the mite and report the results to DPI. These washes were "vital to maintaining confidence in the containment of this devastating pest".

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