A honey bee worker collects pollen from a flower in Lihu‘e. Kaua‘i is one of the few places in the world still free of varroa mites, one of the most serious honey bee pests. The mite is present on O‘ahu,
A honey bee worker collects pollen from a flower in Lihu‘e. Kaua‘i is one of the few places in the world still free of varroa mites, one of the most serious honey bee pests. The mite is present on O‘ahu, where it was first detected in 2007. The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture in 2008 found varroa mites on the Big Island. So far, besides Kaua‘i, Maui, Lana‘i and Molokai have also been free of the pest, which weakens adult bees and causes the young to be deformed.