Just like to share a letter I received from the State of Louisiana, Bob
Odom, Commisioner of Agriculture and Forestry
 
 
Memorandum Dated February 4, 1999
 
To:        Beekeepers
 
From:    Jimmy P. Dunkley. Adm. Coordinator
              Nursery and Apiary Programs
 
RE:        Small Hive Quarantine and Survey
 
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) has implemented
a quarantine prohibiting the movement of honey bees and used beekeeping
equipment from any areas where the small hive beetle (SHB) is discovered.
The Louisiana Beekeepers Association (LBA) requested quarantine action
against the SHB at their annual meeting in December 1998, as it has been
determined to be a serious honey bee pest and there is currently no
registered treatment to control the beetle. Since the SHB is a recent
discovery in the United States and is not known to occur in Louisiana, the
LDAF imposed the SHB quarantine, effective at noon February 1, 1999.
 
The terms and conditions of the quarantine are as follows:
 
           1.   Pest and Description:                           Aethina
tumida-Murray, a predacious insect pest of the honey bee
 
and hive related material.
2.      Quarantined Areas - The states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,
South Carolina or any other state, U.S. territory, foreign country or
geographical area where the SHB is discovered and is designated by the state
entomologist as a quarantine area.
 
3.      Prohibition - No association, common or private carrier,
corporation, firm, individual, legal entity or any other person or entity
shall bring, move or transport into Louisiana any regulated materials
originating from or coming from the states of Florida, Georgia, North
Carolina, South Carolina or any other areas where the SHB is discovered,
except as set out herein.
4.      Regulated Material - individual honey bees; honey bee colonies;
package honey bees (including queen battery packs); bee hives; nuclei; comb
or combless packages of bees; queens; used or second-hand beekeeping
fixtures or equipment or any other thing that has been used in operating an
apiary; and any other product, article, or means of conveyance, of any
character whatsoever, when it is determined by an inspector that it presents
a risk of spreading the SHB.
5.      Movement of Certain Regulated Material into Louisiana Under Permit -
Honey bee queens and attendants in individual shipping cages will be allowed
entry into Louisiana from quarantined areas when accompanied by a permit
issued by an authorized agent from the state of origin that certifies the
bees to be from an apiary free of the SHB. Each certificate shall be based
upon an actual inspection of the bees to be shipped or moved into the state
made within sixty days preceding the date of shipment.
 
If you have purchased or moved bees in the past from any of the states
quarantined for SHB, please contact me and provide details of the honey bees
and/or equipment moved. The LDAF will contact you during spring inspections
to survey your bees for this pest. You may contact me by calling
(225)925-7772. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
 
JPD
 
Cc:   Matthew Keppinger
         Craig Roussel
         Dr. Dale Pollet
         Steve Bernard
 
Hope this informs you and not bothers you with excessive reading.
 
Buddy Gauthier
 
Computer Systems Analyst / Bee Hobbyist
Cameco Industries, Inc.
Thibodaux, LA  70301
Phone: (504)448-0339
Fax:     (504)435-4704
Email:  [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>