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By: Blair Cunningham | Lower South Island News | Wednesday April 25 2012 16:34
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The varroa bee mite has travelled south. The reddish brown parasite is already present in much of the country's hives and it's just been discovered around Dunedin. Federated Farmers bees industry chairman John Hartnell says the mite could now be as far south as Invercargill after being found in Cromwell and Queenstown. "It's not something we didn't expect, obviously the longer it stayed away the better it was for the beekeepers, because obviously there's a cost with managing the varroa mite, and I guess ultimately a cost to farming." John Hartnell says the mite is far more intense in the first two to three years after it's discovered. Photo: Getty Images |
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