"There were several colonies involved at St. Andrews. They were in three seperate apiaries and the infestations ranged from over 300 mites dropped in a diagnostic test to only one. I have recieved this information from a VERY reliable source. Unfortunately it appears that something of a witch hunt developed, and several of the 'hawks' put severe pressure on the unfortunate beekeepers who found they had the mite, and as a result of beekeeper pressure, NOT from the authorities, the colonies have been destroyed. To me this is tragic, and at least one of the parties involved is an old time beekeeper who has loved his bees and been diligant and vigilant for years. This man deserves praise and support as he was sharp enough to discover what others had not, namely that varroa is in his area. He did not deserve to be hounded out of bees. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Harry Murray and all, I live 20 miles from St Andrews, I expect Varroa to come into my area very soon, and I am more vigilant, and probably better prepared than my neighbours, who may not know anything of varroa (not you Gavin!) There is no prize for guessing who in my area will find varroa first ! I am at the moment apprehensive of the "ignorant mob" who will decend and probably destroy all my hives and put me out of beekeeping for good. I don't see how they can also get rid of the feral/wild bee population which in my area probably outnumbers the hobby/commercial hives. In the populated central belt of Scotland, which is geographically similar to the North of England, the mite is here, probably well installed and there is no point in destroying hives. To the contrary we need to be keeping as many colonies going as possible, with effective management of the infected bees. Harry's situation IS differrent, he lives in the Highlands, a sparsely populated area, with very few wild bees, and many miles of upland bleak mountainous terrain between him and the next bee. There are also few if any wild/feral colonies in this area. In these situations,the only bees are managed bees, which are largely dependent on skilled management to survive. Harry and other committed beekeepers in the Highlands and Western Isles probably can keep varroa out, and I will admit that here it may be logical to culling infected colonies. But considering the amount of people who move hives to the heather, he may have to wipe out his entire stock every couple of years. And how would he restock if he had to do this ? Best wishes to all, Steve, Kilspindie