Hi Bob,

Like everything in beekeeping, everything is specific to location 
(and country).  

However our experience........

Varroa was discovered in New Zealand March 2000.
It is still spreading through the South Island (40% of honey 
production)

5 year average crop up to before Varroa was 8,781 tonnes
5 year average crop up to and including 2008 crop is 10,208 tonnes

Anecdotal evidence is that beekeepers are producing more per hive 
with 30% more a common number.  Reasons speculated on include reduced 
numbers of hobbyists, reduced competition from ferals, possibility of 
pollen mites killed by V. treatments and thus better nutrition in 
hive, beekeepers being beekeepers rather than bee havers (Bee havers 
do not survive Varroa), better control of bee stock genetics with 
eradication of ferals (mostly A.m.m in NZ). 

Varroa produced an immediate increase in price of pollination of most 
crops but most importantly kiwifruit (around 30% of country's hives 
go to KF pollination.  On this crop price went up NZ$50 per hive on a 
base of 80 - 100.  Prices now are in the NZ$130 - 200 range.  This 
jump was caused by grower fear surrounding media beatups of the 
demise of beekeeping from V.

In Australia, one significant advantage would be the elimination of 
ferals.  As I understand it, the claim is that feral honeybees 
inhabit available nesting sites and compete with Australian native 
animals, birds etc and thus upset the natural order of things.  It is 
hypothesised that these same ferals preferentially pollinate some 
species over others again upsetting the natural order.....   This is 
a key (if not THE key plank) in the environmentalists' argument that 
is having Australian beehives thrown out of National Parks, Forestry 
and Wilderness areas.
Varroa will eliminate these ferals (and their replacements from 
commercial apiaries) and this may negate the environmental argument 
that is causing so much angst there.

Best regards,
Peter Bray_________________________________________________________
Airborne Honey Ltd., Pennington St, PO Box 28, Leeston, 
New Zealand Fax 64-3-324-3236,  Phone 64-3-324-3569  
http://www.airborne.co.nz  [log in to unmask]

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