Some people might wonder why the future PEQ facility will have a compound devoted to bees. Bees don’t just provide delicious honey, but also honey products such as beeswax, and pollination services. Australia imports queen bees for the purpose of increasing genetic diversity and disease resistance within our bee populations. Around the world, there are a number of pests and diseases which can impact on bees. Some of these, including Varroa mite and Tracheal mite, are not currently present within Australia. As exotic pests and diseases would have negative impacts on the Australian Bee industry, strict guidelines have been developed for the importation and quarantine of queen bees.
The bee compound at the future PEQ facility has been designed to meet Australia’s forecast needs for imported bees, allowing bee keepers access to improved genetic stock and reducing the risk to industry. For information about the future bee compound click here or for more information about the Australian Honey Bee Industry, please visit Plant Health Australia’s Honey Bees page.