Last week, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) approved for beekeeper purchase and use the new Varroa mite treatment Norroa. WSDA’s Matt Sunseri, director of Pesticide Special Registrations, reviewed the registration application materials and pesticide label and gave it the go-ahead for beekeepers in Washington to purchase.

Norroa uses a novel mode of action against Varroa. Norroa kills mites by preventing them from reproducing. It uses double stranded RNA which matches a sequence in the Varroa DNA which stops the mite from creating a protein needed for egg production. Studies have shown, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency and WSDA agree, that there will be no off-target effects on any living thing by using this treatment.

WASBA applauds Greenlight Biosciences for creating another tool in beekeepers’ fight against Varroa, and the regulatory agencies for registering it for use!

Tim Hiatt, WASBA Legislative Chair
legislativechair@wasba.org