>  Do Australian beekeepers keep bees in the arid areas or are they kept in
> the lusher areas?

Yes they do, keeping in mind that there is really no stationary beekeeping
in Australia, except for backyarders with only a couple of hives.  Something
like 70% of honey comes from native flora, predominantly trees, again
predominantly eucalypts.  In any given spot, even in the 'lusher' areas
there may be no flowering of these trees in a given year.  Some of these
trees flower most years, but not every year.  Some are years between
flowering, others may flower and not yield.  The spotted gum sp. in my area
has only given honey once (of any consequence) in my forty odd years of
beekeeping, although it has flowered a few times and given excellent pollen.
In other areas other spotted gum sp are more reliable.

>>I couldn't possibly comment.  However it is true that we spend only a few
weeks a year at most on cropland.

>What are the main crops that get bee pollination?

Almonds have expanded of recent years, and is the main crop, something like
100,000 are wanted this year.  canola (rapeseed) is used by beekeepers, but
much of that is grown in areas that were already used for spring buildup on
Patterson's Curse.  Similarly where I live many thousands of hives go onto
country growing macadamia nuts, but again this was country already used by
beekeepers for build before the nuts.  There is a small amount of paid
pollination of all the crops you would expect, including seed companies, but
it is not a major thing here at this time, many growers getting away with
feral colonies.  Most beekeepers don't like pollination because of the
chance of missing a major honey crop, the risk of insecticides and having to
put the hives in small scattered lots.  Keep in mind that a major honey crop
here, at least on the mainland, can occur at any time of the year.

>Do US queens (or their eggs) no longer get through the quarantine or is
>Australia not interested in US stock anymore?

For reasons that are bizarre, the station is at present closed.  Don't hold
me to this, but my understanding is that of recent times it was largely
used by queen breeders to bring in stock to suit particular customers.  I
have no idea how many or if any were coming from US.  The person who would
know is not answering his phone, Trevor Weatherhead might have some idea.

>That's interesting.  So the Aussie packages imported by the US are likely
>stock that originated in the US?

That is my guess.  For instance one queen breeder I worked for in the long
ago imported either, or both Weaver/Park stock every year.  When the
quarantine station opened he simply selected from his own stock, and still
does.  He was involved for awhile in one of the breeding schemes here, but I
have no idea as to how much genetic material he incorporated in his outfit.
However much of that would have been originally US stock.  However as you 
say
below there may have been particular stock for particular customers.

>I remember reading Brown (I believe) using varroa resistant stock from
>Italy.

I understand one breeder imported some from France, mostly to go back there.

Geoff Manning

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