A virus causing deformed wings in bees which has just been discovered at two apiaries in Northland and Waikato may have been here for a long time.
Biosecurity NZ incursion manager Richard Norman said it was possible the virus had been in New Zealand since early European settlement,but had not flourished until hives were weakened by varroa mites.
"The virus is widespread overseas and clinical signs occur in varroa-weakened hives - varroa is the thing that makes the difference in bringing out signs of this disease," he said.
National Beekeepers Association president Jane Lorimer said the announcement was devastating, because the deformed-wing virus had caused large hive losses overseas.
Some overseas experts have suggested the deformed-wing virus may be implicated in a mysterious illness devastating honeybee populations across the United States, killing up to 80 per cent of colonies in some areas.
Some overseas research has shown varroa mites are highly effective at spreading deformed-wing virus between bees.
