Hi Aaron and all,
Work done at the Baton Rouge Lab indicates that the varroa mites in
Europe and the US are similar to the mites in Russia and different
from the varroa in South America and Japan.  This would indicate that
our mites here in the US were most likely imported from Europe.
 
As far as where fluvalinate resistance is someone commented earlier
about spread this spring up the east coast out of Flordia but they
are actually a year late.  Since the resistant mites were found in
Flordia after the spring shipping season and were later found in SD
and other states in bees shipped out of Flordia they were most likely
spread to scattered areas across the eastern half of the US last
spring.  All beekeepers should check after treatment with apistan to
make sure it actually worked as we don't know where these mites have
already spread to.  The recent reports here indicated spread
continues in Europe and here it will be faster since we move bees
more here in the US.  Many of those bees in Flordia are only there
during the winter and are in the northern US during the summer so I
don't really think that weather in Flordia has anything to due with
development of resistance exposure to fluvalinate is the cause.
 
FWIW
blane
 
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Blane White
State Apiary Inspector
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
90 W Plato Blvd
St Paul, MN 55107
http://www.mda.state.mn.us
phone 612-296-0591
fax 612-297-2504
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