§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the potential evolution of a drug-resistant form of varroa; and if he will make a statement. [28969]
§ Mr. RookerThere is evidence of a strain of varroa on the Continent which is resistant to the drug Bayvarol but we are not aware of any incidence of it in the United Kingdom. The position is kept under close review.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the extent of the varroa outbreak among bees in the UK; what steps he has taken to combat its spread; and if he will make a statement. [28967]
§ Mr. RookerThe Statutory Infected Area (SIA) for varroa now includes the whole of England and Wales and affected areas in Dumfries and Galloway. The most northerly occurrence to date has been in Golspie, Scotland.
Control measures are based on varroa being statutorily notifiable disease. Upon first finding evidence of varroa infestation in Devon in 1992, a SIA was declared with movements across the boundary being strictly controlled. Information on the geographical distribution of the mite was collected via a number of sources, including searches. Now that the SIA covers the whole of England and Wales, the need for formal searches there has been removed. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, random Spring and Autumn searches continue to be carried out. Where isolated incidents have occurred in Scotland these have been dealt with by destruction of hives and bees.