“It wasn’t for the honey, it was just to have some bees,” says Dee Why beekeeper Regis Issartial, who started keeping bees in his backyard over two years ago. At the time, Australian beekeepers were still adjusting to the arrival of Varroa mite. Today, the mite is established on the Northern Beaches and managing it has become part of the job for local beekeepers. But a new threat is on the horizon.
An avid gardener, Regis Issartial first became interested in beekeeping after noticing there were not many bees around his garden. With no previous experience, he started researching, reading and listening to podcasts, but soon realised there was always more to learn.
“They’ve got their days, like I’ve got mine.”
His brother-in-law, who already kept bees nearby, offered him his first hive. Today, Regis keeps five hives in his Dee Why backyard.
A local honey community
Although honey was not the reason Regis started beekeeping, his hives soon began producing more than he could use himself.
Since he works full-time, Regis set up a locked cabinet outside his home where customers can collect their honey whenever it suits them, day or night.
The response from the local community took him by surprise. Most of his customers are from Dee Why, with many returning regularly.
“It looks like people are enjoying having honey from someone in their area.”
But producing honey is only one part of keeping a hive.
“Bees are not just honey.”
Varroa mite
When Manly Observer reported on the spread of Varroa mite in 2023, authorities were still attempting to contain and eradicate the mite. Varroa mites are parasites that feed on honeybees and can spread viruses, weakening and eventually killing entire colonies if left unmanaged.
Regis started beekeeping after Varroa arrived in Australia, meaning the additional monitoring and treatment it requires has always been part of beekeeping for him.
“I am lucky in one way because I started beekeeping after the arrival, so I don’t know how it was before.”
Keeping the mite under control means inspecting hives more frequently, monitoring mite levels and, when necessary, treating colonies with methods that can include organic acids such as oxalic and formic acid.
“There is no cure for that really. You need to live with that.”
Varroa on the Northern Beaches today
By September 2023, attempts to eradicate Varroa in Australia had stopped after the mite had spread too far. The response instead shifted towards managing it. Northern Beaches Beekeepers president Vincent Schnyder says the mite is now fully established on the Northern Beaches.
Schnyder describes the first wave of the mite as devastating.
“I was myself close to getting out of beekeeping.”
“I was myself close to getting out of beekeeping.”
He was not alone. Schnyder says membership of Northern Beaches Beekeepers has fallen from a peak of around 400 to about 80 today, a decline he partly attributes to the additional work now involved in keeping bees.
Since the initial wave, Schnyder says the situation has become more manageable for local beekeepers.
“For those beekeepers who manage the hives, it is now much easier than two years ago, because you do not have many feral colonies that breed mites till they collapse.”
Schnyder says these colonies previously acted as a source of mites, which could then spread into managed hives.
“The good old days are gone, but it is not doomsday.”
What happens next
But another challenge may be on the horizon, as treatment-resistant Varroa mites have been found in parts of northern New South Wales and Queensland.
Schnyder says the treatment-resistant mites have not yet reached the Northern Beaches.
“The chemical treatment options are not yet gone for our region, but it is a matter of time.”
He says the resistant mites could make managing European honeybees more difficult by reducing the number of effective treatment options available to beekeepers.
Schnyder says the movement of bees across NSW for almond pollination could contribute to the resistant mite spreading further south.
Despite the challenges ahead, Schnyder remains optimistic about the future of beekeeping on the Northern Beaches.
“I’m always a glass-half-full person. We were lucky that we had an initial incursion with a mite which was not already resistant to synthetic chemicals, so we had more tools to begin with.”
Schnyder says Australian beekeepers will increasingly face the same challenges already experienced overseas.
“We are on the same page as all the European and American beekeepers.”
For Regis, the challenges have done little to dampen his enthusiasm for beekeeping.
After finishing work each day, he often spends time checking the hives or simply watching the bees.
And while he never started beekeeping for the honey, sharing it with people in his neighbourhood has become part of the experience.
“There is a beekeeper everywhere on the Northern Beaches. You need to support your local beekeeper.”
