Hawaiian Honey Bees Now Introduced to the Bee Mite.

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The varroa mite is considered one of the most serious honey bee pests and occurs almost worldwide. Hawaii had been one of the few places where the mite was not known to occur. It is not known at this time how the mites were introduced to Oahu. So far, surveys conducted on hives in the Tantalus, UH-Manoa and Makiki area have detected varying degrees of infestation of the mite. Surveys on commercial hives on the Big Island, where several of the state’s queen bee raising operations are located, have not detected the Varroa mite.

“This bee mite poses a major threat to Hawaii’s bee industry and to feral bee populations,” said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, Chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. “Teams of HDOA staff have been working rapidly to determine the extent of the infestation and to establish containment and control plans.”


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