A truck carrying bees infected with mites was brought from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan.
Badreddin Hasratov, president of the Beekeepers Association, informed Trend about this. He stated that bee families were imported from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan and it was noted that they were infected with the Tropilaelaps mite. In international trade, there is a high risk of mites spreading to other countries through bee families, package bees, and queen bees.
"These mites feed on bee larvae. As a result, weak and deformed bees emerge, viruses spread, the colony quickly weakens and collapses," he said.
It was noted that the association made serious efforts to prevent the importation of bee families from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan.
"The Tropilaelaps mite is widespread in Uzbekistan. This country has been exporting bees to Russia for years, and the disease has spread there as well. After the Russians determined that bees from Uzbekistan were spreading the disease, they banned imports."
Hasratov noted that attempts were made to export bees from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan through various means, and this was ultimately achieved.
"Currently, a truckload of bees brought from Uzbekistan is in the Ismayilli region. The bees infected with the Tropilaelaps mite have already been unloaded," he added.