In a message dated 5/11/00 2:55:37 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Again, as an outsider looking in, and one who has read and listened widely
> over
>  the topic, it seems to me that the biggest handicap to eradication of
varroa
> is
>  not the varroa, it is human nature. Flouting laws and commonsence and
moving
>  hives via backroads to beat road blocks seems to be the norm where ever
> controls
>  have been attempted. It makes one wonder whether these beekeepers make
their
>  money from products of the hive or bootleg.

    How true!   Truckers know where every scale is and know alternative
routes that avoid scales. Even when the transportation folks set up portable
scales, the truckers all know within minutes via CB radio.

    But there is even more here than sneaking around the regulations to try
to make a living.  Stringent attempts to regulate and/or eradicate varroa
makes a powerful incentive for those who have it, to want everyone to have
it, so that their problems will be reduced.  One angry person can negate
millions of dollars worth of government effort.

    I am sure that tracheal and varroa mites have been deliberately seeded in
some situations, simply in response to official quarantines, "depopulations,"
or even just slow inspections which made pollination contracts impossible.
Beekeepers who were calling for stringent controls are the most apt to get
seeded.  Wherever pollination is threatened or damaged, the growers may join
the group that are angry about the situation.

    In fact, New Zealand may be a case of just this thing. I can think of
some folks who would have plenty of motivation to get New Zealand infested.
And I doubt that they would just do it at one or two points, if they did.
The Canadian quarantine was a terrible blow to the livelihoods of many who
formerly supplied packages from the southern USA. New Zealand moved into that
market.

    Please understand I am not advocating, nor condoning this kind of
malicious act. I am simply calling to attention that it easily can, and
probably does happen.

    If New Zealand does depopulate or take other methods that cost beekeepers
their livelihood, it is not only right and fair to make sure they are
compensated, but it also could defuse the kind of anger that will negate any
control efforts.

    Most likely, as in other areas of the world, by the time varroa is
discovered, it is unstoppable, and it's probably time to start educating
beekeepers on how to deal with it.

Dave Green
The Pollination Home Page:    http://pollinator.com