Richard Ball, the South West Regional Bee Inspector and Adam Vevers, Area Beekeeping Inspector have been worried that so few of the area's bee keepers have attended training sessions relating to the Varroa mite that has become resistant to traditional control products and have been decimating the bee population in many parts of the world.

The Varroa honeybee mite was first reported in 1904 in Java, then in 1963 in Malaya and Hong Kong. In 1968 it was reported in India, China, and Russia. The first Varroa infestation was discovered in the United States in September 1987. It is now a worldwide parasite.

The mites are arachnids with 8 legs, like spiders. The adult female is about the size of a pin head (approximately 1.1 x 1.6mm) and may be observed crawling on any part of the adult bee body, most likely between the over-lapping abdominal sternites or on the thorax. Infection of a hive causes bees to emerge as adults with shortened abdomens, misshapen wings, deformed legs and weighing less than healthy bees. The recommended product for the control of the mite is a pyrethroid. In 1998, bees resistant to the chemical were confirmed

A special meeting was held for area bee keepers at the Buttercup Cottage apiary in South Zeal to demonstrate how to test hives for the mite and how to apply various control techniques.