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Why have Australian honeybees been put into lockdown? Podcast

Why have Australian honeybees been put into lockdown? Podcast

Science Weekly vor 4 Jahren

Madeleine Finlay finds out why the varroa mite, a deadly parasite, poses such a threat and what it means to put bees into lockdown

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The varroa mite, a deadly honeybee parasite, has finally found its
way into Australia. Varroa destructor affects every other major
beekeeping area in the world, damaging honeybees and transmitting
viruses across hives. Now, in a fight to contain the mite, the
state of New South Wales has destroyed 1,533 infected hives and
implemented a statewide standstill on bee movement. Madeleine
Finlay speaks to Dr Cooper Schouten, a beekeper and researcher,
about why the mite poses such a threat to honeybees, what it means
to put bees into lockdown, and what impacts this biosecurity breech
could have.. Help support our independent journalism at
theguardian.com/sciencepod