The increased annual losses in European honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in North America and some other countries is usually attributed to a range of factors including pathogens, poor nutrition, and insecticides. In this essay, I will argue that the global trade in honey bees and migratory beekeeping practices within countries has enabled pathogens to spread quickly. Beekeepers' management strategies have also contributed to the spread of pathogens as well as the development of resistance to miticides and antibiotics, and exacerbated by hobby beekeepers. The opportunities for arresting honey bee declines rest as strongly with individual beekeepers as they do with the dynamics of disease.

Australia is the only country where Western honeybees, Apis mellifera , are not infested with the mite Varroa destructor . Hence, a collapse in the feral honeybee population, brought about by an incursion and spread of V. destructor , would have serious consequences for Australian horticulture given its dependence on managed and feral honeybees for pollination. Managing Varroa in commercial colonies is well understood and can be achieved, although at significant bee-health costs, by using miticides. Protecting the feral population in the event of a Varroa incursion is much more difficult, but nevertheless imperative. One way to mitigate against collapse of the feral population is to seed it with Varroa -resistant queens, so as to accelerate the spread of resistance. We developed a simulation model of the spread of Varroa -resistance in feral honeybee populations following the introduction of Varroa -resistant queens into the managed population.

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