John Mitchell asks: "Is there anybody on the list who operates in Texas
and has some more information about how this quarantine works?  Obviously,
it means you can't take colonies out of the quarantine area, but can you
move colonies around within the quarantine area?"

I'm not a commercial beekeeper, but I know Paul Jackson (State Apiary
Inspector) and others who are familiar with the quarantine, and that is what
I have heard:  you cannot move bees out of the quarantined area into an area
that is free of AHB, but you CAN move them anywhere within the quarantined
area.  If you look at the map, it's interesting that there are many counties
south of Dallas/Fort Worth that are not quarantined (at least there are some).
I'm not sure what all the factors are that contribute to the distribution of
AHB.  It's an interesting situation.  Andy Nachbaur used to say that normally
"gentle" bees behaved agressively in desert areas.  I'm guessing the same
might apply to AHB.  That would be an interesting study.

Layne Westover
College Station, Texas