The South Island bee industry is about to be asked whether varroa bee mite surveillance programmes should continue next year.

The Varroa Agency will begin monitoring on the Mainland again in March this year, as they've done since 2005.

Chairman Duncan Butcher says it will hopefully assure beekeepers that varroa is confined to the top of the South Island.

But he says surveillance beyond that would require a levy from beekeepers, and support from local councils.

A series of meetings will begin next week, with one scheduled for Dunedin on February 27th