The Varroa mite, not much larger than the point of a sharpened pencil, is seen behind the eye of this honey bee (brown area). The tiny mite that has devastated Mainland commercial honeybee hives and wild populations has now been confirmed in bee colonies across O'ahu. AP Photo/Florida Division of Plant Industry

The infestation by varroa mites has led the state to ask beekeepers to restrict transport of bees around the Islands. There are concerns it could threaten the Big Island's thriving queen bee export industry, which has so far tested free of the mites.

The parasites have been blamed for destroying more than half of some Mainland beekeepers' hives and wiping out most wild honeybees there. That destruction preceded the more recent appearance of a mysterious ailment on the Mainland that has killed off tens of thousands of honeybee colonies in at least 21 states. Known as colony collapse disorder, the ailment has not appeared in Hawai'i.

"This is going to be for us a nightmare, said Michael Kliks, head of the Hawai'i Beekeepers' Association and owner of Manoa Honey Co. "When I saw that mite I knew exactly what it was. I knew exactly what it meant and I fell to my knees and almost began to weep because it's inexpressible what that sea change is for us in Hawai'i."

The parasites are blamed for destroying more than half of some Mainland beekeepers' hives and wiping out most wild honeybees there.

Kliks discovered the varroa mites April 6 on a pupa contained in an abandoned hive he recovered from Makiki and immediately notified state agriculture officials.

Since then the mites have been confirmed in hives in Waimanalo, 'Ewa, Kunia, Kahalu'u and Punalu'u.

Hives are still being checked elsewhere on O'ahu but already it is too late to hope to eradicate or even contain the infestation, Kliks said.

"The only thing we can try and do is keep the levels of infestation in our managed colonies below what's called the threshold level ... so that we can still produce honey. But keeping it at that level will certainly require quite regular, heavy application of permitted pesticides," he said.

CHANGES TO ISLAND CROPS

That may mean the end of certified organic honey production on the island.

The appearance of the mites could also bring big changes to crops in the Islands, such as coffee, macadamia nuts and pumpkins, that have depended on wild bees for pollination, Kliks said.

That's because without treatment the wild populations — which far outnumber managed bee colonies in the Islands — would be the first to die out, he said.

The state hasn't determined how extensive that problem would be.

"We're looking into how much of our agricultural industry requires bee pollination. A lot of the plants do get by with wind pollination," said Darcy Oishi, an entomologist with the state Agriculture Department.

One concern is the effect on the queen bee industry on the Big Island, which has been supplying mite-free queens to honey and pollinating operations throughout the world. But after testing 30 sites, there is so far no indication that the mites have spread to other islands, he said.

None of the mites were found in surveys on the Kona side of the Big Island, or the south sides of Kaua'i or Moloka'i. But hives in other sections of those islands as well as Maui and Lana'i are still being surveyed by state entomologists, said Janelle Saneishi, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture.

SLOW SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE U.S.

Originally from Asia, varroa mites were first discovered in Wisconsin and Florida in 1987. By the next year, the mites were found in 12 states and have since spread throughout the continental U.S.

The pin head sized insects feed off the blood of honeybee adults, larvae and pupae. The mites can weaken adults and cause deformations in younger bees and are spread through bee contact.

"We were hoping that Hawai'i would stay free but we're not sure how it got in," Saneishi said.

Bees cannot legally be imported into Hawai'i.

Beekeepers are now being asked not to move their bees between islands or even within the same island. Once authorities have confirmed where the mites have spread, they can then work on a possible quarantine for bees throughout the state, Saneishi said.

"But you know a bee flies. So that's the wild card," she said.

On the Web:

Hawai'i Beekeepers' Association: http://www.hawaiibeekeepers.org/index.php