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Date: | Mon, 8 Jan 1996 10:43:00 -0800 |
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Dear Adrian
Re. Request for Canadians
As some of my colleagues already responded, the Varroa mite was first
detected in British Columbia in the Fraser Valley in August 1992, in a swarm
trap at the border with Washington State. The Fraser Valley was declared
generlly infested a few months later. Its incidence was still low but its
distribution quite wide in the valley.
Extensive surevys through most of the province during subsequent years
revealed that the mite was limited to border areas with the US. In 1994,
some incidental Varroa finds were made along highway corridors northward to
the (BC and Alberta) PEace River region. Clear evidence of the effects of
transporting infested colonies along highways.
In 1995, a significant introduction of Varroa was observed when large
numbers of colonies were allowed to be moved from the (infested) Fraser
Valley to the (fruit growing) Okanagan Valley.
In short, the Varroa mite has steadily and slowly found its way into
beekeeping areas farther away from the Canada/US border. This expansion has
been clearly the result of the actions of beekeepers moving infested
colonies around.
Since 1987 (well before the arrival of TM and Varroa), BC placed a ban on
the movement of all bees from the mainland to Vancouver Island (& adjacent
islands). Until now, extensive surveys have shown that neither Varroa nor
TM occur in this protected area.
Paul van Westendorp [log in to unmask]
Provincial Apiarist
British Columbia
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