Tasmania’s world-class honey industry is now officially free of the small hive beetle pest.
Two beetles were detected in hives at East Devonport in March last year, forcing Biosecurity Tasmania to declare an exclusion zone on hive movement reaching as far South as Sheffield and as far West as Ulverstone.
Extensive surveillance activities followed, including thousands of inspections and traps within the bee Movement Restriction Area, with the final inspections completed last month.
Despite the inspections, no more evidence of small hive beetles were detected, prompting the Natural Resources and Environment to revoke the restriction zone last week.
The department says the exclusion zone was required to protect the health of Tasmania’s bees and the honey and pollination sectors.
The small hive beetle is a European pest, which is now present in all of Australia, apart from the Northern Territory and now Tasmania again.
