Hello Tim & All,
Being directly involved in both the issues referred to in the post I feel
compelled to comment. Tim the Missouri beekeeper which talked to you weeks
ago about importation of pallets of packages into California is my beeping
partner.

> These regs. were purposely drafted to do as much as possible to
> prevent US imports of mites and other parasites that we do not yet have.

Actually my concerns are virus oriiented but I realise virus importation can
not be controlled.

"Certify that the hives from which the honeybees in the shipment were
derived were individually inspected by an official of the regulatory agency
no more than 10 days prior to export."

We are till seeking clarification over exactly what the "regulatory agency"
means. Is a local bee inspector ok? Is the inspector  special trained?

>Also "Notice of Arrival - At least 10 business days prior to the >arrival
in the United States of any shipment of bees or honeybee germ plasm imported
into the United States under this subpart, you must notify APHIS of the
impending arrival."

The head of the APHIS department involved ( Wayne Wehling) has the power to
wave this part *if* he sees fit.

The first shipment since the border closing from Austrailia (Tim is aware of
and involves a Missouri beekeeper) will be a meeting of agencies &
beekeepers involved. Wayne Wehling will attend, Homeland security will
attend, Austrailian beekeeper or beekeepers will attend , up to three
commercial U.S. beekeepers might  attend and even Bob Harrison *might*
attend the event. (if the event happens soon).

Beekeepers wanted the shipment to come into the Fresno airport but Mr.
Wehling wanted the San Francisco air port. The bees will come into the San
Francisco airport!

Tim asks:
Now I wonder if the queen bee breeders and package producers in say
California or Georgia have to have this same inspection and
certification before they ship interstate?

I spent an hour on the phone last night working on a queen shipment from
Georgia into Canada for a close friend queen breeder. I gave the queen
breeder contact information in APHIS & Canada. I will post when the rules
become clear. The shipment into Canada is not pressured by time as is the
Austrailian package shipment. We are still in shock at the cost of a phone
call to Austrailia from the U.S. ( 18 min.= $75). Discount phone cards do
not get a discount. What are we doing wrong? Does a way exist to make a
cheaper call to Austrailia?

Tim said:
The wording in the ruling is "single sanitary surveillance".  So all
countries now exporting to the US, those on the approved list, are under the
same conditions.  As Dave points out the US conditions are certainly much
tougher than the Canadian conditions for US queens to go to Canada.

All beekeepers in all countries with concerns for importation into you
countries your concerns  are certainly valid! Our group feels the benefits
outweigh the *current* risks.

Big reason for import  into U.S.:

Queens & Packages will be available at a time now which U.S. queen breeders
can not fill and never would be able to fill.

Minor reason of Bob Harrison:
We want those Australian queens alleles for our breeding program as myself
(and others) believe the gene pool of U.S. queens needs alleles improvement.

We are also happy Reindeer has seen fit to do another importation of the
Russian queens as Myself (and others) have felt alleles problems could
surface in the Russian program *long-term* without further importation.

The import and export of bees into the U.S. is a done deal. Is going to
happen! Those on BEE-L which want to waste the lists time with *your
reasons* why imports & exports  are a bad idea please keep your comments
brief as you are riding a dead horse! The subject has been hashed and
rehashed on BEE-L and the archives are full of  opinions! Lets move on
please!

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison

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