A large feral beehive was found yesterday on the Big Island by Hawai'i Department of Agriculture staff and about 60 varroa mites were collected from a sample of 5,400 bees from that hive, the department said.

The feral hive is in the airport area, in an old quarry.

Last week, one varroa mite was detected on Wednesday and 14 mites on Thursday in bait traps a few hundred yards from the infested hive.

"The close proximity of the feral hives to the varroa mite detections last week render it likely that the hive was the source of the mites," said Neil Reimer, manager of the Plant Pest Control Branch. "Crews are now working on treating the hive."

Varroa mites are among the most destructive pests suffered by honey bees, and could threaten bee pollination of flowers and food crops statewide if the mites spread.

Agriculture Department personnel have been trapping, monitoring and testing bees since varroa mites were first discovered on the island in August.

Forty-three bait stations and about 200 swarm traps have been deployed in the Hilo area to trap feral bees. More than 100 feral hives have been treated and destroyed.

In all, five hives and two swarms infested with mites have been found from a total of about 150 hives sampled.

All of the detections have been within about a one-mile radius, which indicates that the varroa mites may not have traveled far from where they were first detected. Varroa mites have not been detected in any beekeepers' hives on the Big Island.

Hilo residents are asked to report wild beehives and bee swarms to the state's toll-free Pest Hotline at 643-PEST (7378).

The Agriculture Department also asks beekeepers and the public not to transport bees or beekeeping equipment in or out of a 15-mile radius of Hilo Bay.