Biosecurity officials have imposed a six-month ban on the movement of bees and hives in NSW after an outbreak of the deadly parasite near the Port of Newcastle.
The tiny reddish-brown mites weaken and kill colonies of introduced honey bees.
Native bees are not afflicted but that doesn't mean they're out of danger, University of Queensland bee researcher Tobias Smith says.
He says any widespread outbreak could put native bees at greater risk of viruses.
"If you think about mosquitoes and humans, when they bite us they can leave something nasty behind. It's the same with varroa mites which can transfer viruses to honey bees through their bite," he says.
"And we know that when bees visit flowers they can leave behind viruses and pathogens on flowers that other bees or other pollinators can get.
"There's evidence from other parts of the world that do have varroa mite that some of these viruses from honey bees can get passed onto various native bee species too."
Native plants could also suffer if the mite establishes itself and takes a heavy toll on native bees.
"Introduced honey bees do have the potential to pollinate some native plants but not all," Dr Smith says.
"Some flowers are just not attractive to European honey bees, but it can also be about the mechanics of pollination.
"We have lots of plants in Australia that need to be shaken to be pollinated and lots of our native bees shake their bodies when they pollinate. European honey bees can't do that."
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