Expected Locust Plague

[philinacoma]

Anyone with bees in country NSW, SA or northern Vic?

Are you planning on moving your bees out of the potential spraying area? What other precautions have you planned?

[Mardak]

The DPI sent us maps with the expected locust infestations. farmers will certainly be spraying so moving the girls is the only thing to prevent poisoning. Some will probably just relocate to Gippsland way.

[philinacoma]

Sounds like its going to get rather crowded down Geoff's way.

[Pete]

Is it likely there will be a shortage of bee colonies over the summer in the north of Vic and southern NSW?

[philinacoma]

That sounds like a question for the old time keepers, I havn't been in the sport for long enough to have seen how a locust plague changes things in the bee world.

[AllenF]

Could you tell us more (us on the other side of the planet) about the locust and what they are doing.   I was just wondering what was going on.

[OzBuzz]

Could you tell us more (us on the other side of the planet) about the locust and what they are doing.   I was just wondering what was going on.

Nothing at this stage - the time bomb is still ticking... a few weeks ago they did an analysis and, in 1 sqm of soil, they found 9,000 locust pupae!

[Pete]

The Egg beds are the size of spain according to this mornings news.

[AllenF]

Geez.   Why don't they spray the ground with bt or Gaurdstar?

[Pete]

ummm cos its the size of Spain...Gov is enacting a special provision that allows them to enter anyones land and spray and have a fund for repaying any farmers checm bill if they spray.

The area is reasonably remote, some is land for wildlife and other is prime farming country.

They spray them once they hatch, and before they develop the wings and take off. Once they fly we are cactus.

[philinacoma]

They are waiting until the they start swarming on the ground. It's said that this is the best time to spray. Once they go airborn there's nothing that can be done.

[OzBuzz]

ummm cos its the size of Spain...Gov is enacting a special provision that allows them to enter anyones land and spray and have a fund for repaying any farmers checm bill if they spray.

The area is reasonably remote, some is land for wildlife and other is prime farming country.

They spray them once they hatch, and before they develop the wings and take off. Once they fly we are cactus.

I can see a lot of feral hives getting wiped out from the spraying sadly!

[AllenF]

What do they use for spray?

[OzBuzz]

There's a huge list of 'approved' chemicals:

- ALPHA-CYPERMETHRIN 100 g/L
- BETACYFLUTHRIN 25 g/L
- CARBARYL 500 g/L
- CHLORPYRIFOS 500 g/L
- CYPERMETHRIN 200 g/L
- CYPERMETHRIN 250 g/L
- CYPERMETHRIN 260 g/L
- DIAZINON 800 g/L
- FENITROTHION 1000 g/L
- FENITROTHION ULV 1.23 kg/L
- FIPRONIL 200 g/L
- Fipronil WG 800 g/kg
- FIPRONIL ULV 3 g/L
- GAMMA-CYHALOTHRIN 150 g/L
- LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN 250 g/L
- MALDISON 440 g/L
- MALDISON 500 g/L
- MALDISON 1000 g/L
- MALDISON 1150 g/L
- MALDISON ULV 1169 g/L

With the following to be used on Organic Certified Farms

- METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIAE VAR. ACRIDUM SPORES - SC
- METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIAE VAR. ACRIDUM SPORES - SC PREMIUM
- METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIAE VAR. ACRIDUM SPORES - ULV

[Mardak]

The state governments over here do not plan a lot. They always look at the easy options rather than the natural predators or fungi that can eat the locusts. A lot of farmers are not at all happy with the various governments and their inaction on this significant issue. The bee keepers are caught up due to declining public bee sites available. The green political influence and apathy of government towards Beeks is deplorable.

[SlickMick]

Today's Courier Mail had a map of where the locusts were in good ol Queensland.. quite a few in fact from the NSW border up through central Qld to the Gulf. Apparently they have sprayed 109 "swarms" covering 26,000 hectares already. By the look at the size of the swarms on the map, 26,00 ha aint going anywhere in dealing with them

Slicko