Tom Barrett asked:

>I would suggest that any logical individual will readily accept that the
>bees which ended up in New Zealand with varroa did not fly there.

>Equally, the bees that ended up in Ireland with varroa did not fly here.

>And equally, the bees which will end up in Hawaii with varroa will not fly
>>there.

>So, people are moving varroa infested bees into areas that did not have varroa.

>Why??

   I feel Tom has "hit the nail on the head."  Since beekeeping began, I
suspect that beekeepers have always felt that they could do better if ONLY
they had a better bee --- overlooking an alternative idea that they could
do so if they could develop better management practices.  In fact, we have
revered people who have transported various strains of bees across bodies
of water.

   However, time and time again, beekeepers have proved that they are their
own worst enemy.  Name any pestilence, and you can be certain that some
beekeeper has introduced it into a previously uninfested area --- again, in
the name of "improving" existing conditions.

                                                                Adrian

Adrian M. Wenner                    (805) 963-8508 (home phone)
967 Garcia Road                     (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106

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*
*  "When we meet a fact which contradicts a prevailing theory,
*     we must accept that fact and abandon the theory, even when
*     the theory is supported by great names and generally
*     accepted."
*
*                                       Claude Bernard --- 1865
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