Dave Green said:

> I hate that smaller beekeepers find migratories a convenient target.
> And many of them are so busy that they don't have time to go to a lot
> of bee meetings, so they don't have much defense against the nonsense
> that is thrown around.

Well, let's compare and contrast:

a) The USA, where the needs of a small number of migratory
   beekeepers have trumped each and every quarantine every
   single time (except the anti-fire-ant attempts of California,
   which is a whole different story, where bees and their pallets
   are merely one of many potential carriers).

b) Alberta and Saskatchewan Canada, where there are only a few
   "migratory" beekeepers, and certain areas are known to be
   "completely non-migratory".

Like it or not, there seems to be a clear and compelling correlation
between a lack of migratory activity and both a greatly reduced incidence
of and much slower spreading of exotic invasive diseases and pests.

In contrast, look at Florida.  How DO Small Hive Beetles, first detected
in Florida, suddenly pop up hundreds of miles away without any
sightings anywhere in between the two points?  Funny how Florida is
unique for being an over-wintering spot for so many migratory operations.

Now there is more than one form of "migratory", and all the SHB finds
n Tennessee clearly were introduced by small-scale "migratory" events,
where someone moved across state lines to get a Sourwood crop.

Call me any name you'd like, but one does NOT see the sort of steady
mile-by-mile, county-by county spread that one saw with AHB as it spread
over the Mexican border.  If "natural spread" was the primary mechanism
for the spread of all diseases and pests, we WOULD see a mapping pattern
similar to the many maps made of the spread of AHB.

A swarm can only fly so far.  Trucks can go much further.  The lack of more
detailed mapping (down to the county level or better yet, the 5-digit zipcode
level) on a nationwide basis is a disgrace, but I don't know if anyone
except me is really interested in having finer-grained detail than
"state level" mapping of pests and diseases.

Such fine-grained mapping would prove the point one way or the other beyond all
doubt, so I'm not sure that anyone really wants detailed mapping to exist.

Regardless, I hold no grudge against anyone who willingly works like a beekeeper
while living like a carnival roadie.  Being "on the road" for a few weeks
straight
is a draining experience, even if one stays in the best hotels, flies by
corporate
jet, and is pampered by skill professionals at each step in the journey.

I could not imagine being "migratory" for even a single season.


                jim ("Good morning, concierge desk..."
                    "Where am I?"
                 "You are in room 1428, Sir."
                    "More generally, I am... where?"
                 "You are at the Embassy Suites, Sir."
                    "Yes, yes, I figured that out, but what CITY?"
                 "You are in Atlanta Georgia, Sir.")

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