> I imagine that queens sold from those areas also present a risk, although
smaller.  What about queen cells?  Do SHB enter queen cells before they are
capped, and emerge with the virgin in a new location?

Bob, I have never seen SHB in queen cells.  They are not like varroa and
have to enter the cell to lay eggs.  SHB lay eggs in the hive and the
resultant larvae feed on the honey and pollen and slime the combs making
them unusable.

For queen bees, if they are hand caught and hand escorted then there is next
to no risk of SHB being transported in queen cages.  Queen bees have gone
from mainland Australia to Tasmania for around 14 years and SHB has not been
found in Tasmania to date.  If the cages are escorted by the battery system
then there are known cases of SHB being found in the queen cage.

Trevor Weatherhead
Australia

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