Hello All,

Harold asks:
I wonder if Bob Harrison would give us an update on the Australian bee
imports or maybe have to wait till next ABJ?

I have agreed to two articles upcoming on the Australian import for ABJ.

An update in fall and next spring. Normal time for an article for the
magazine to be in print is three months but a faster time can be done if the
editor knows for sure the article is coming and the appprox. size so the
correct amount of space can be made available in the desired issue. Such was
the case with the Australian articles.

Harold said:
So far the articles have been very interesting and informative.

Thanks! I also thank the many beekeepers which sent emails saying they liked
the articles .

However in all honesty I had two people which did not care for the articles.
One changed his mind after we discussed the situation by email and the other
was Jim Fischer (Bee-L & Beesource.com) and I could not change his mind.

To Jim & those which spread "doom & Gloom" regarding all the problems which
the import will bring with it I say simply.

Terry Brown has been shipping around thirty pallets of 384 packages  into
Canada for decades and the only very minor problem has been chalkbrood. I
have already seen that a tracheal & varroa mite free package is an asset .

Jim Fischer has a right to his opinion as do we all but ten years from now I
am going to post on BEE-L and say. "Jim are you ready to admit none of those
things happened you warned us about!"

The upcoming articles will be in detail ,with pictures and varroa counts
unlike the crude update below.

An short update would be the Australian hives remain untreated with heavy
varroa ADDED pressure.

The Australians  went through the almond pollination with no signs of varroa
infestation but they arrived varroa free unlike our U.S. sold packages these
days..

 My partner and I  moved  most into apple pollination which lasted about
three weeks of heavy brood buildup.

We have made at least one split from each hive. Bascially these bees have
been on pollination or been fed since they arrived to test buildup and
varroa . Consider 14 weeks of brooding (without treatment) and going now
into a 6-8 week clover flow before varroa testing and treatment if needed..

Some were moved onto a Black Locust flow a couple weeks ago.

The others are in the process of being moved onto clover fields.

Some hives (  less than 10%) are  showing some bees with deformed wings but
no signs of PMS. We are not seeing signs of chalkbrood now. I did find three
out of 150  which light chalkbrood in April.

So far the Australian bees have performed exactly as expected.

 Making the splits dropped some varroa load ( removing frames of brood with
varroa in cells) but having been brooding up all spring has added varroa
pressure plus when not on pollination they have been a large holding yard
with hives with a high level of varroa.

I expect serious varroa issues in late summer but time will tell. WE ARE NOT
BABYING THESE BEES!

If you are reading this post Dann Purvis we shipped the Australian queens
yesterday for you to maintain, test and incorporate into the Purvis Brothers
line if you see fit. Should arrive this morning. Let me know if you have
problems with the shipment!

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison

Ps. Terry Brown is coming to the U.S. before long to look at these  bees and
get our thoughts. I am bound by a non disclosure agreement not to speak
about what we are discussing but what we are working on would in my opinion
be a step in the right direction for our industry.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::