Beekeepers on the lookout for foreign pest
The State Government has given beekeepers around Melbourne's port special hives as part of a pilot program looking for signs of an invasive foreign pest.
The varroa mite destroys bee hives and colonies, and could damage various parts of the agriculture sector if it got into Australia.
Jim McKey is one of a number of hobby beekeepers around the port taking part in the bee force program.
"The apiary inspector sends a sticky mat to me that I insert into a special slot that they've put into the hive," he said.
"You leave that mat in the hive for one to two days. If there are any mites in the hive, they would drop onto the sticky mat."
Mr McKey says a lot of primary producers rely on pollination by the honey bee.
"In Victoria, the almond crops totally rely on bees and they use tens of thousands of hives every year," he said.