Varroa Bee Mites Spread to HiloBy Brianne Randle, KHON2 (USA), 8/23/2008
Manoa Beekeeper Michael Kliks first spotted this tiny mite in April of '07.
"I called Department of Agriculture within five minutes, and they were at my house within fifteen minutes, we all understood what we had on our hands."
The "Varroa Destructor" - a bee mite that can kill a 60-thousand bee colony in a matter of weeks.
"They transmit viruses they weaken the hive by sucking the blood," says Kliks.
For the last seventeen months the mites were found to have spread from Ewa to Mililani to Waimanalo...that is until yesterday.
"Now we're eighteen months into it, and it's happened."
The Department of Agriculture discovered four Varroa mites in a bee swarm trap near Hilo harbor.
"Now it's on the Big Island, and that's a disaster for agriculture," says Kliks. "Clearly the Department of Agriculture did not even attempt to contain it to the island of Oahu."…
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