to just 1400, a drop of 25 per cent over the past 10 years. A recent report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences stated that "average profits were negative for those with less than 200 hives".

The other main threat to the Australian bee industry is the real and present danger of the dreaded varroa mite entering Australia. It is a small mite that sucks the life out of honey bees and has decimated bee numbers across much of the globe. At present Australia remains varroa-free but this year we had a close escape. In June a bee colony infested with varroa mite was detected at the Port of Melbourne in a wooden crate on a ship from the United States. The colony wasinvolves fertilisation by European honey bees. Some of those bees are feral bees living in tree hollows. Without treatment, varroa mites would wipe out the feral population, leaving only bees managed by people such as the Whiteheads.

Looking after bees is hard work. Photo: Richard Cornish

Last week Rod and his sons finished pollinating an almond plantation in the Murray Valley in the north of Victoria. While they are paid about $92 a hive for the four-week pollination period, it is barely financially worthwhile. "At the end of winter the almonds are the first plants to flower," says Rod. "It gets the bees through until spring. It helps them feed up and recover after winter."

Soon, Rod and his sons will take their hives to feed up on canola and clover