Australian knowledge network promotes future of pollination

Scientists say Australian farmers need to find a replacement for the feral European honey bee, as insurance against an incursion of the Varroa mite which would decimate introduced bees and stop crop pollination.

Australia is one of the very few places thought to be still free of Varroa mite, which has wiped out bee colonies on nearly every continent over the past 50 years.

Experts have long warned that it is almost inevitable that the mite will gain a foothold in Australia, despite stringent customs and quarantine regulations.

Now scientists who specialise in bees and other pollinators have formed a nationwide network to try and identify which native species could provide the back-up plan that agriculture will need.

Scientists say native insect species such as bees, butterflies and even flies could provide the answer to a future loss of European pollinators, but they say much more research needs to be done.

Researcher, Dr Megan Halcroft convened the gathering that brought scientists from different states to central-west New South Wales to identify what needed to be done to promote the use of native species in agriculture.

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