SOME of Australia’s most highly-regarded honey bee and pollination researchers were in Gympie last week, as part of the Queensland Beekeepers’ Association’s annual conference.
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Three research projects supported by the Honey Bee and Pollination Program were outlined, and researchers provided the latest findings from each.
The Honey Bee and Pollination Program aims to support research, development and education that will secure a productive, sustainable and more profitable Australian beekeeping industry, and secure the pollination of Australia’s horticultural and agricultural crops.
Small hive beetles
Dr Diana Leemon from Queensland’s Department of Agriculture has been researching the best approach to developing an external attractant trap for small hive beetle (SHB) – a pest that is spreading across the east coast of Australia, feeding on honey, pollen and honey bee larvae and turning honey into fermented slime.
Dr Leemon presented key findings from the SHB trapping trials being conducted at three apiary sites around Queensland, as well as progress on the development of a synthetic lure to catch the pests.
Chalkbrood
Jody Gerdts from Bee Scientifics is investigating the relationship between honey bees and the fungal infection ‘chalkbrood’.
Ms Gerdts highlighted her research into developing a targeted breeding and management strategy that could provide resistance to the economically damaging infection.
Honey origins
Dr Kale Sniderman from the University of Melbourne also gave an update regarding his research into techniques to verify the origin of Australian honeys.
Honey Bee and Pollination Program’s Advisory Panel chairman Dr Michael Hornitzky said the pollination research sector is an incredibly busy and exciting space at the moment.
“There is a keen interest in the industry, both internally and externally, in what research advances are being made and it’s important that there is an ongoing sharing of information,” he said.
The latest Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Report and Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Report was also delivered, as well as an update on the Varroa Response Team and the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program.
