Number of NSW varroa mite infestations jumps by 25 per cent

Officials hunting a tiny bee-killing parasite in New South Wales have found five more infested properties in the last 24 hours, as the number of affected bee operations worryingly jumped by 25 per cent.

Beehives with varroa mite were discovered at Anna Bay, Heatherbrae, Williamtown, Mayfield and Lambton, which all fall inside an existing exclusion zone set up around Port Stephens, near Newcastle.

The mites, also known as varroa destructor, were first detected at the Port of Newcastle on 22 June, prompting widespread fears for Australia's $70m bee industry.

READ MORE: Rapid RBA rate hikes will run builders into ground, industry body warns

Yesterday NSW Department of Primary Industries confirmed infested hives had been found in Narrabri, 400km north of Newcastle and just 150km south of the NSW-Queensland border.

A 10-km radius kill zone was immediately rolled out around Narrabri.

Dr Chris Anderson, a protective officer with the agency, said all bees on the five Port Stephens properties will be euthanised, and hives and equipment destroyed.

The new detections bring the total number of infested premises to 24.

"All movements of hives and equipment onto and off the property over the past 12 months will be traced," he said.

DPI officers will inspect hives in the Calga area, north of Sydney, over the next week.

READ MORE: Bee-killing varroa mite like an evil genie that won't go back in bottle

READ MORE: How tiny beetles are killing California's giant sequoia trees

Varroa mite can kill and weaken farmed bee populations.

Once an outbreak sets in, varroa cannot be eradicated.

The worst-case scenario is varroa spreading across the state and into Queensland, Victoria, ACT and South Australia.

The government has banned movement of bees anywhere in the state.

READ MORE: The Zombie Mice who 'scalp' and eat albatrosses alive on Marion Island