Ron Taylor writes:
>Are we any better today than we were 10 years ago. We still have the
>same problems with a bigger threat.

It is easy to look at one's own problems and think they are the
worst, but the beekeeping industry is not alone in this. Varroa and
the small hive beetle are particularly difficult because they are
invasive species. There is no one to blame, really. The world just
keeps getting smaller and more crowded.

>INVASIVE SPECIES
>
>America's forests and other ecosystems are threatened by invasions
>of exotic species of insects, disease pathogens, and plants.
>Already, insects, fungi, and disease pathogens introduced from
>Europe and Asia have damaged 70% of the 165 million acres of forest
>in the Northeast and Midwest. Exotic weeds infest a total area as
>large as Texas; they are damaging half our National parks and 60% of
>preserves managed by The Nature Conservancy. Invasive exotic species
>threaten nearly half of all America's imperiled species.
>
>Every day, new species are brought into the country -- species that
>may prove to be as harmful as those already wreaking such havoc.
>Many come in as unwanted "hitchhikers" on various types of cargo,
>including on imported logs, lumber and wood chips; in wooden packing
>crates and pallets; on imported plants, fruits, and cut flowers; in
>ships' ballast water; even attached to the ships and planes
>themselves.

http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/invasive.htm