Varroa mite is a serious, exotic parasite of adult European honey bees and their brood. The mite occurs in beekeeping countries throughout the world but has not been detected in Australia. There are several surveillance projects for early detection of an incursion of varroa at and near shipping ports.
Beekeepers are encouraged to test their own hives for varroa using the simple sugar shake (or roll) test. When varroa mites are dusted with pure icing sugar, the fine granules stick to their feet and they can no longer grip the surface they are clinging to. The dusting of adult bees with icing sugar causes mites to fall off the bee into the white sugar where they are more easily seen. This simple sugar shake detection method is now used by many beekeepers throughout the world.
