Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders issued the order which stops the movement of bees across NSW in the hopes of stopping the spread of the varroa mite, which was detected at the Port of Newcastle on Friday.

Four properties have been identified as having infected hives so far.

"Australia is the only major honey producing country free from varroa mite, the most serious pest to honey bees worldwide," Mr Saunders said.

In other news:

If untreated a varroa mite will kill any bee hive it infects. All feral and untreated bee colonies will eventually die. And this puts the Australian honey industry, valued at $100 million per year, in serious peril.

Jaye Hughes, from Bidgee Pollination services, works with farmers across the Riverina to pollinate crops such as almonds, canola and onions.

He said there is "a lot of emotion" around the beekeeping community at present.

Mr Hughes feels lucky about the timing of the "circuit breaker" lockdown of bees, as his hives are currently "wintered down", but by the middle of next month, almond pollination season begins.

And if the bees across the state are still locked down by then, it could be a disaster for Riverina crop growers.

"It's all up in the air at the moment," he said.

"The initial shock of it for a few years, if [the mite] got in that bad, it will be a big hit to the industry. Not just bee keepers, it's more the wider horticulture industry."

NSW deputy chief plant protection officer Chris Anderson said that bees are responsible for $14.2 billion worth of value to pollinated industries across the country every year, which could be hit hard if the mites take hold.

"Australia is the last continent in the world to not have this particular pest. It's severe because it can vector a number of viruses. And when you get the combination of mite and virus in the beehive it really decimates the hive," he said.

"The statewide lockdown that is in place is to enable us to get a handle on where the pest is and we're hoping to be able to achieve that in the next few weeks.

"If we didn't have the statewide lockdown in place we would be throwing the industry to the mites."

Charles Sturt University entomologist Dr Paul Weston said that once these mites get established they become "impossible to eradicate".

And if it that happens, farmers would then be slugged with the large cost of keeping them at bay with 'miticides'.

"There are tools for managing it. It's just going to increase the cost of doing business," he said.

"The key is to prevent it from spreading and jump on it if detection is found."

Although there is hope, he said. There was a previous detection in cargo at the Port of Melbourne in 2018 and authorities successfully eradicated the mite on that occasion.

Mr Hughes is fearful the mite could become endemic.

"It is a worry, you've got to say it's definitely a worry," he said. "Hopefully it's pretty well contained up there."

Wagga beekeepers should be on alert and check their hives for the pests, said Mr Anderson.

"Especially out in Wagga and the Riverina area, immediately call 1800 084 881 or alternatively if you don't find anything at all, email those negative results through to us," he said.

"That's really helpful, because in the long term we want to demonstrate that it's not in certain parts of the state."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: