Your jar of honey might look no different today than it did a year ago. Behind it though, Australian beekeeping is going through one of its biggest changes in generations.
Varroa mite is now established in South East Queensland, making it harder and more expensive for beekeepers to keep hives healthy and productive.
At Libees Honey, the impact is already being felt. One complete apiary site has collapsed following Varroa infestation, while the mite was detected at the family’s breeding site in Gympie in July.
The challenge has shifted from preparing for Varroa to living with it.
Varroa Doesn’t Destroy the Honey
Varroa doesn’t destroy the honey itself. It damages the colonies that produce it.
The mites reproduce in honey bee brood cells, weakening bees and helping spread viruses. Without effective management, they can severely weaken or kill a colony.
Making matters harder, Queensland authorities have confirmed resistance to several commonly used Varroa treatments in South East Queensland. Beekeepers are being advised to regularly monitor mite levels, check whether treatments remain effective and use an integrated pest management approach.
That means more time, intervention and expense simply to keep hives productive.
Varroa — The Numbers
10.5%
Australia’s annual colony loss rate in 2024–25, up from 6.8% the previous year.
$19,590
Average 2025 operational cost of Varroa management reported by surveyed commercial beekeepers affected by the mite.
1,380 hives
Number NSW Apiarists’ Association president Matt Skinner says one beekeeper lost in 12 weeks, with the loss estimated at $1.2 million.
Sources: Australian Colony Loss Survey 2025; NSW Apiarists’ Association.
View the Australian Colony Loss Survey 2025 Report here.
More Than a Jar of Honey
For the past eight years, Liby’s mum has kept what the family calls a “honey cupboard” — not a shop — stocked with honey and honeycomb alongside beeswax products including balms, food wraps and candles.
It’s a small reminder that what comes from a healthy hive extends well beyond a jar of honey.
Bees can forage several kilometres from their hive for nectar. At the Libees farm in Gympie, a strong flowering of nearby macadamia trees can see them fill 10 frames in as little as two days; with scattered spring flowering, it can take around three weeks.
Back at the hive, the nectar is deposited into cells and fanned until its moisture content falls to around 17 per cent. The bees then cap the cells with wax, ready for harvesting.
Varroa threatens the workforce behind that entire process.
Can Bees Be Bred to Cope Better?
The pressure is also reaching queen breeders. Libees Honey is now the last of three queen producers in the Gympie area still operating.
That makes the longer-term question increasingly important: can bees be bred to cope better with Varroa?
Research published in 2022 examined Varroa resistance in Cuba, home to an estimated 220,000 European honey bee colonies that had survived for more than two decades without routine Varroa treatment.
Researchers examined behaviours associated with Varroa resistance, including “recapping”, where worker bees open and subsequently reseal capped brood cells. Higher recapping rates were associated with Varroa-resistant populations, particularly in cells infested with the mite.
Libees’ breeding program in Gympie is drawing on lessons from this research, with a particular interest in darker bee genetics and behavioural traits associated with Varroa resistance.
Australia has traditionally favoured Italian honey bees, valued in part for their relatively calm temperament, but Libees believes greater emphasis will now need to be placed on selecting bees for their ability to cope with Varroa.
Developing and spreading useful genetic traits, however, takes generations.
Want to Support Australian Beekeepers? Read the Label
For consumers, one of the simplest ways to support Australian honey producers is to check where their honey comes from.
Honey is classified as a priority food under Australia’s country-of-origin food labelling rules, meaning packaged honey must carry country-of-origin information.
Honey sold on an Australian supermarket shelf isn’t necessarily made entirely from Australian honey. For shoppers who want to support Australian producers, the country-of-origin label is an easy place to start.
That choice may become increasingly important as Varroa adds to the cost and complexity of producing honey locally.
Getting Ready for Spring
Despite the upheaval, the seasonal work continues.
August at Libees means scraping old frames, cleaning boxes and rendering wax ready for spring hive growth, as well as restocking packaging and filling supplier orders.
Soon the trees will flower and the bees will begin working the nectar flows again.
The difference now is how much more work may be required to keep enough healthy bees there to do it.
Published on 24-August-2026
Editor’s Note: Written in consultation with Libees Honey.
