Geoff gave some answers. Here is a bit more information.
>>What are the main crops that get bee pollination?
Besides the almonds that Geoff mentioned, in our part of the world there are
also many hives on macadamias which are not paid for by the grower. Many
beekeepers carry out paid pollination on avocadoes, rockmelons
(cantaloupes), watermelons, pumpkins, apples, lucerne (alfalfa) plus seed
canola and sunflowers. There are a select number of beekeepers doing a lot
of seed pollination for many crops for the mother seed. This mother seed is
then often sent to other parts of the world, Canada comes to mind, for
reproduction of the seed which is eventually sold to the farmer. In some
crops we supply 70 to 80% of the mother seed produced in the world. A
beekeeper told me that before the Olympics in China in 2008, he had many
hives pollinating clover as the seed was being sold to China to plant to
make the place look green for all the visitors and the television coverage.
At a set date, prior to the Olympics, that pollination cut off probably due
to the fact that any seed planted in China would not grow before the
Olympics.
As Randy indicated, we do not get much honey from crops, mainly from trees
and it can be all year round.
>>Do US queens (or their eggs) no longer get through the quarantine or is
>>Australia not interested in US stock anymore?
Currently there are no imports from the USA due to the feeling that the
tests for Africanised genes are not accurate enough to stop entry of those
genes in imported stock. Prior to the quarantine station being established,
in around 1983, there were large imports of USA stock. It has been
suggested this may have been how we got Israeli Actue Paralysis Virus
(IAPV). There is certainly interest in stock from the USA but until the
testing issue for Africanised genes is addressed, it will not happen.
>>That's interesting. So the Aussie packages imported by the US are likely
>>stock that originated in the US?
This is possible. A lot of the Italian stock was from the USA. So in
reality, it is possible you are getting back your own stock, albeit having
been reproduced many times since the original import. I know there are some
who are still trying to stop imports from Oz but, as well as getting some of
your old stock back, it is also probable that any viruses are what we got
from your side of the Pacific in times gone by.
>>I remember reading Brown (I believe) using varroa resistant stock from
>>Italy.
Not sure where all his stock came from but he is not the only one exporting
stock from Australia.
Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA
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