Shelby Ashelford and Julia Hutabarat just might be a bee's best friends.
The pair are amateur beekeepers who met several years ago through their local bee club in Orange, in central west New South Wales.
"Even though I have millions of them in my two hives, I think of bees as individuals," Ms Ashelford said.
"I talk to them every day, ask them how they are, what they're doing that day."
Ms Hutabarat has worked for years as a palliative care nurse, but in her spare time has become fascinated by the bees in her two backyard hives.
"Bees are like spiritual beings," she said.
"They all have jobs in the hives, they all work in the community, and they connect us with nature."
Anxious wait
The past two years have turned their dream of living with bees into a potential nightmare as varroa mite spread across New South Wales.
Varroa was first detected at the Port of Newcastle in 2022, and since then has resulted in at least 47,000 hives destroyed and millions of bees killed.
The eradication and control plan was abandoned in 2023 and while beekeepers are required to report detections, it is unknown how many hives have been affected.
Several synthetic treatments are available, while two non-synthetic chemicals, Formic Pro and Apriguard, are on the market.
But Ms Ashelford is keen to explore other options.
"As natural beekeepers, we prefer avoiding the use of chemicals on our hives," she said.
"The approval process for non-synthetic treatment could be simplified with products available overseas that don't taint or leave residue on the hives."
Varroa Warriors
For beekeepers, the spread of varroa mite has been harrowing to watch.
Varroa mite has impacted bee populations for decades across Asia, Europe, the US, South America, and New Zealand.
Varroa is a small parasitic mite that attaches to bees and weakens them, reducing their life span.
"Everyone is feeling the same watching varroa now in Australia — we don't know what to do. It affects us at every level," Ms Hutabarat said.
"Putting chemicals in my hives goes against my beliefs, as putting in chemicals means we're not giving bees the chance to build up natural resistance."
In an attempt to find answers, Ms Hutabarat and Ms Ashelford formed a group called Varroa Warriors.
At its launch, dozens of beekeepers from around NSW met to discuss the spread and what options were available.
"We will need to save our hives because they can't survive themselves," Ms Ashelford said.
"When varroa arrives, we want to do what we can as naturally as possible."
Varroa research
The group has begun working with academics and citizen scientists to find answers to their questions.
ANU Professor Sasha Mikheyev said he was working with Varroa Warriors as part of his research group, the Australian Bee Observation Network.
"What we have seen worldwide is that some populations of feral honeybees develop natural resistance to varroa," Professor Mikheyev said.
"The mechanisms of how they do this are unclear.
"By working with groups like Varroa Warriors it means we can conduct studies together to get scientific proof to help them for potential varroa treatments."
Feeling abandoned
Despite tens of millions of dollars being pumped into the initial control and prevention of varroa in NSW, some beekeepers have felt overlooked.
"Because of the different methods we're using, there's been a gap in the support offered," Ms Hutabarat said.
NSW Department of Primary Industries varroa development officer Emily Noordyke said it had been working with beekeepers since the first detection.
"We are absolutely willing to work with any recreational or commercial beekeepers to see what kind of assistance they need," she said.
"We hold education workshops and speak at local beekeepers' groups as we want to make everyone feel included."
Ms Noordyke said there were options for organic beekeepers to treat their hives with more being considered.
"We have two treatments currently available with another having been applied for … we are trying to increase organic options as well as teaching other non-chemical options available."
